The UK and Europe have been working to phase out the sale of new internal combustion-powered vehicles for years now, plans that have received both support and criticism from various parties impacted by that decision. Problem is, EV sales in both the UK and Europe haven’t quite grown at the pace required to satisfy those mandates, and that’s particularly true in the UK, where many automakers – including Ford – are facing massive fines for missing EV sales mix targets. Now, it seems as if UK officials will somewhat head back to the drawing board as a result.
According to Bloomberg, the UK government is giving automakers eight weeks to submit their opinions on the country’s plans to phase out the sale of new ICE models (save for certain hybrids) by 2030 as several – including Ford – have expressed concerns over that legislation. Additionally, officials are reportedly asking if this goal is viable at all, and are seeking input on whether or not “flexibilities” included in the current system are sufficiently supporting automotive manufacturers.
Regardless, officials have said that they aren’t backing away from the current plan to eliminate the sale of non zero-emissions vehicles by 2030, but rather, they plan to consider additional support measures that would help it meet the goal, as well as determine which type of hybrid vehicles could continue to be sold alongside pure EVs from 2030-2035. Ford has been quite vocal about the need for robust EV incentives to help spur sales of those models, sentiments echoed by others as well.
Across Europe, Ford plans to continue to sell ICE, hybrid, and EV models for the foreseeable future amid weak demand for all-electric models, regardless. The automaker also recently stated that it will pare down its European passenger vehicle operations somewhat and focus more on its profitable commercial-focused Ford Pro business as well. As a result, Ford plans to trim 4,000 jobs in Europe and the UK, with many of those likely coming from voluntary retirements.
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