A motoring expert has urged the Government to avoid adding a certain kind of vehicle to the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) target.

As BMW delays the start of UK production of all-electric Minis due to a lack of EV sales, the Government are continuing to rethink the mandate to offer more support to vehicle manufacturers.

However, Thom Groot, CEO of The Electric Car Scheme, warned that adding hybrid vehicles to the ZEV mandate’s targets would be a step backwards.

He explained: “The question of whether or not the definition of a zero emissions vehicle should now include hybrids of various kinds for the purposes of hitting the ZEV target is frankly ridiculous.

“To even consider including plugin and mild hybrids with the figures in order to make it easier to reach targets simply muddies the waters once again. After all, the clue is in the name: a zero-emission vehicle should have zero emissions at the tailpipe.”

Under current measures, car manufacturers have to sell a certain quota of electric vehicles each year, with the amount increasing until a complete ban on petrol and diesel models comes into effect in 2035.

During 2024, the first year that the quota was enforced, electric vehicles accounted for 19.6 percent of the new car market – 3.4 percent under the target for the year.

Whilst the increase in demand for EVs has been celebrated by some, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders highlighted that companies spent a collective £2 billion in discounts to make electric models more desirable to customers.

Despite the debate over whether less polluting petrol models, such as plug-in hybrids, should be counted in the quota, many experts have called for discounts that do not leave the manufacturers out of pocket. Matt Galvin, Managing Director of Polestar UK, called for VAT to be slashed.

He continued: “We need to see the Government implement structural incentives that encourage consumers to choose electric vehicles willingly, not just through short-term discounts.

“We would like to see a temporary reduction in VAT on new EVs to 10 percent for three years, a further reduction in VAT on public charging to 5%, bringing it in line with home charging, and a revision of the expensive car supplement threshold to £52,000, which was set in 2017, to reflect inflation.”