{"id":353015,"date":"2024-12-02T15:47:25","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T14:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=353015"},"modified":"2024-12-02T15:47:28","modified_gmt":"2024-12-02T14:47:28","slug":"britain-has-a-choice-amend-the-electric-car-mandate-or-let-the-industry-go-bust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=353015","title":{"rendered":"Britain has a choice: amend the electric car mandate or let the industry go bust"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK\u2019s net zero policies are now costing serious jobs \u2013 and threatening entire regional economies.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vauxhall Motors last week announced the closure of its Luton van-making factory<\/a>, which employs 1,100 people directly and many, many more across local and national supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The news shocked Luton, once a major hub of the UK\u2019s automotive industry. Vauxhall has operated in this Bedfordshire town for almost 120 years. The Telegraph<\/a> has the story.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is just the latest disturbing industrial closure driven in large part by the overzealous net zero policies of successive UK governments. Unless mainstream politicians are careful, this relentless pursuit of environmental goals will seriously alienate millions of voters across our industrial heartlands \u2013 in fact, it already has.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve spent years arguing for a gradual shift away from fossil fuels. Everyone wants a cleaner planet for their kids whether they live in Luton or elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that transition must happen at a pace that is economically, technologically and politically realistic. The UK\u2019s net zero policies fulfil none of those criteria \u2013 which is why they are now being widely castigated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision to close Luton was taken by Stellantis \u2013 the world\u2019s fourth-largest auto-making conglomerate, comprising European and US brands including Chrysler, Fiat and Peugeot, as well as Vauxhall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carlos Tavares, Stellantis chief executive, said earlier this year that\u00a0the zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate<\/a>\u00a0was making car making in the UK economically unviable \u2013 which is obvious, to anyone who has been paying attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of our political and media class, protecting their eco-credentials and averse to awkward details, have waved away the warnings. But Britain\u2019s net zero policies, not least ZEV, are now imposing existential damage on parts of the country least able to withstand major economic shocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 2035, the sale of new petrol and diesel cars is to be banned, with second-hand sales remaining legal. That\u2019s the law in the UK and across the European Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labour\u2019s manifesto pledged to bring that ban forward to 2030, which is where it was under the Tories until Rishi Sunak moved the target back to 2035, in line with the EU. But Sunak only moved the headline date back five years, with the underlying \u201ctransition\u201d period remaining the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is that, since January, UK-based carmakers have faced extremely stiff fines if 22pc of the cars they sell in Britain aren\u2019t fully electric \u2013 having to shell out an astonishing \u00a315,000 for every vehicle by which they fall short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The target ratchets up to 28pc next year, incrementally rising to 80pc by 2030 (or 70pc for vans) \u2013 even if the complete ban remains at 2035.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But consumers aren\u2019t buying it. Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) remain low for all kinds of reasons, including a still-poor charging network, concerns about battery performance and related \u201crange anxiety\u201d. New EV sales are far lower than official forecasts, having stalled at less than a fifth since 2022 despite carmakers offering deep discounts and ongoing tax breaks for company-bought EVs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between January and October, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), new EV sales pointed to demand of 363,000 during 2024, just 18.7pc of the market. This compares to official forecasts of 457,000 sales, an estimated 23.1pc market share, when the ZEV rules were announced in late 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With hefty fines looming, manufacturers have been \u201crationing\u201d new petrol and diesel cars, trying to hit the 22pc of market-share EV target despite low EV sales. Prices of conventional vehicles have soared as a result \u2013 adding to the UK\u2019s ongoing cost-of-living crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SMMT last week said UK car manufacturers have absorbed \u00a34bn of EV discounts but still face \u00a31.8bn in fines \u2013 a \u201ccompliance bill\u201d of almost \u00a36bn this year alone. These are simply ruinous sums for the UK-based car industry, while still employing around a million people, often providing well-paid jobs in parts of the country \u2013 like Luton \u2013 where well-paid jobs are scarce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The UK\u2019s net zero policies are now costing serious jobs \u2013 and threatening entire regional economies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":353020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691829888,691830885,691831702,691818154],"class_list":{"0":"post-353015","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-automotive-industry","9":"tag-electric-cars-evs","10":"tag-manufacturing-industry","11":"tag-net-zero","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/020190801092357-shutterstock-1137105356.jpeg?fit=2000%2C1333&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1tPN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":352561,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=352561","url_meta":{"origin":353015,"position":0},"title":"ZEV Mandates Force Closure of Vauxhall\u2019s Luton\u00a0Plant","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"27\/11\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Vauxhall is planning to shut its Luton van-making factory in a move that puts 1,100 jobs at risk, as\u00a0net zero rules force it to curtail sales of petrol vehicles.","rel":"","context":"In \"Automotive industry\"","block_context":{"text":"Automotive industry","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=automotive-industry"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/091f497400f8a620f22cc1426d19b2c9e.jpg?fit=1200%2C752&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/091f497400f8a620f22cc1426d19b2c9e.jpg?fit=1200%2C752&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/091f497400f8a620f22cc1426d19b2c9e.jpg?fit=1200%2C752&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/091f497400f8a620f22cc1426d19b2c9e.jpg?fit=1200%2C752&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/091f497400f8a620f22cc1426d19b2c9e.jpg?fit=1200%2C752&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":334756,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=334756","url_meta":{"origin":353015,"position":1},"title":"Vauxhall owner threatens to close UK car\u00a0factories","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"27\/06\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This is not sustainable in the long run, and the likes of Vauxhall would quickly run out of cash to do so. 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