Britain’s electric-car roll-out is hitting speed bumps
Some clumsy EV targets will probably get revised. After that, the road should get smoother
The final months of 2024 should have been a landmark moment for Britain’s car industry. For the first time electric vehicles (EVs) consistently made up more than one in five new cars sold. In 2019 that figure was closer to one in 50. Instead, the mood has been soured by a row with the government. A new zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate is kicking in, which requires at least 22% of each carmaker’s sales in 2024 to be EVs. That will rise to 28% in 2025, and again each year until 2030, when the government wants to end the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles entirely.
Explore more
How lucrative are MPs’ second jobs?
We crunch the numbers on MPs’ earnings from media gigs
Britain’s vote on assisted dying is just the beginning
There are still plenty of chances to kill the bill
Fortnum & Mason caters to a demand for festive fun
The 317-year-old British retailer lights up for Christmas
Britain’s vulnerable civil service has a new leader
Sir Chris Wormald, the new cabinet secretary, takes over a system under threat
The British state is blind
How to cope when a government can no longer see