OZEV outlines ZEV mandate changes to Fleet200 members

The Department for Transport (DfT) updated fleet managers on the recent changes to the ZEV mandate and the Government’s plan to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2035.

At the May Fleet 200 Strategy Network meeting, in Reading, Zainab Hasan from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), outlined the results of a recent consultation which helped to shape the policy.

She said: “In terms of the consultation, that ran for eight weeks. It was incredibly intensive, we packed in a lot of sustainable engagement with various groups, so with car manufacturers, environmental NGOs and the charging industry.

“We received over 600 responses, but the majority of those were actually from private individuals, which was quite a new thing, but we managed to cover a fair breadth of the car and van industry. It put us in quite a good position to make some changes fairly confidently and have a good picture of the stakeholders’ positions.”

In 2030, the sale of petrol or diesel cars will be banned, as originally planned. Hybrid cars, however, can remain on sale until 2035. This includes all types of hybrid technology, including mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid systems.

Hasan explained: “Essentially, what we did was commit to providing a lot more flexibility for car manufacturers in terms of the types of vehicles that they can continue to sell during that period.”

For vans, all powertrains are permitted until the 2035 deadline. Giving an extended lifeline to fleet operators that are unable to make electric work across their operation before that time.

The ZEV mandate required manufacturers to ensure 22% of new car sales were pure electric last year, rising to 28% this year.

Manufacturers were also targeted with ensuring 10% of all new van registrations were zero emission last year, increasing to 16% this year.  

The DfT believes the updated ZEV mandate increases flexibility for manufacturers to balance the annual targets against each other and avoid fines by selling more battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in later years of the mandate.

Fines for those manufacturers not able to meet ZEV mandate targets will be reduced by 20%, from £15,000 to £12,000 per car, and from £18,000 to £15,000 (18% less) for vans, with very few firms expected to incur any charges, according to the DfT.

It will extend the current ability to transfer non-ZEVs to ZEVs from 2024-26, out to 2029, giving additional flexibility to reward CO2 savings from hybrids. Caps, however, will be included to ensure credibility.

Hasan also confirmed that existing CO2 test values for plug-in hybrids will continue to be used, rather than the revised (higher) results from the Euro 6e-bis that is now being used in the EU.