The company that owns Britain’s Vauxhall car plants fulfilled the UK government’s electric vehicle (EV) sales mandate last year, despite public criticism of the target and an announcement that its Luton factory would close.
Stellantis, which also owns the Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat brands, as well as several others, was the UK’s best-selling electric van maker in 2024, it announced on Thursday.
Despite this, the company said in November it would close its Luton van factory in April, putting more than 1,100 jobs at risk.
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As part of the government’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, automakers must ensure that 22% of their annual sales are electric vehicles.
Financial penalties are imposed on manufacturers if zero-emission cars account for less than 22% of all new sales and electric vans account for less than 10%. This will account for 80% of all electric car sales by 2030 and 100% by 2035.
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Stellantis, however, exceeded this target for 2024, but did not specify what percentage of sales were electric cars and vans.
It said it sold 39,492 electric cars in 2024 – a 59% increase on 2023 – and 7,821 electric vans.
“The ZEV mandate is not in line with demand”
The target was hit despite long-standing critic of the mandate, reiterated Thursday.
Eurig Druce, Stellantis UK group chief executive, said: “The steep trajectories of the ZEV mandate are out of step with current demand. »
“Put simply, if the UK is to meet its transport emissions ambitions and electric vehicles account for 80% of new cars sold in 2030, then consumers will need more encouragement from the government to achieve this. »
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In response to industry complaints and job losses, such as Ford planned to eliminate 800 UK plays role in European elimination, government announced a consultation on the ZEV lens.
Shortly after the consultation was announced, industry figures for November showed the goal has been achieved. Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 25% of new car registrations in November, well above the government’s target.
But for all of 2024, electric car sales were just short of the mandate, at 19.6%, according to the SMMT.
The lobby group said complying with combustion engine phase-out rules would cost the industry £4bn in cuts (necessary to make electric vehicles attractive to buyers) and £1.8bn sterling in fines for failing to comply with the mandate in 2024 alone.
“UK targets are working”
Opposition to this policy is not uniform.
Campaign group New Automotive responded to the Stellantis figures, saying: “The lessons for ministers are clear: the UK’s targets are working, consumer demand is there, manufacturers are delivering on their promises and the UK is on the verge of benefiting from greener and cheaper transport.
The Department for Transport said: “The UK is now the largest electric vehicle market in Europe and, with the flexibilities of the ZEV mandate, we are confident that the whole sector will meet its targets and that no car manufacturer will not need to pay any fines. »
“We are investing more than £2.3 billion to successfully transition to zero-emission vehicles, unlocking a multi-billion pound industry and creating high-quality jobs that will drive growth for decades to come. »