UK electric vehicle target faces cuts ahead of cabinet talks

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UK electric vehicle target debate

Highlights

Labour ministers remain divided over lowering the 2030 EV mandate from 80% to between 50% and 65%, with a cabinet decision expected this month.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds supports a 50% target while transport secretary Heidi Alexander prefers 60%, and energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh pushes for maintaining 80%.
Debate over the EV mandate escalates political risks for Labour, amid warnings that dilution could harm net zero ambitions, industrial strategy, and voter perceptions.

Ministerial split sharpens before 2030 mandate decision

As reported by The Guardian, Labour MPs are urging the government not to dilute the legal requirement that 80% of vehicles sold by carmakers in 2030 be electric, as senior ministers prepare for a crunch meeting on Thursday.

The intervention comes as Louise Haigh, standing in for Andy Burnham after the prime minister recused himself over a potential conflict of interest, prepares to meet the energy, business and transport secretaries. A meeting planned for Wednesday is pushed back to Thursday, according to government sources, with a final announcement seen as likely this month.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, wants to reduce the target to 50%, while transport secretary Heidi Alexander is seeking a level of about 60%. Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is pushing for the mandate to remain as close to 80% as possible, while sources say Haigh is likely to back a compromise in a range of 60% to 65%.

Chris Hinchliff, chair of the climate and nature crisis caucus, wrote to Alexander on Tuesday saying that cutting the 2030 target would be a "step backwards". He argues that weakening the mandate would undermine the government's wider net zero ambitions, Britain's credibility on climate and efforts to reindustrialise the economy through a coordinated industrial strategy.

Political and industrial stakes rise for Labour

Other Labour MPs in the caucus are reinforcing that message. Clive Lewis says the government should be raising ambition rather than lowering it, warning that retreating from published targets would project inconsistency, while Nadia Whittome says the policy is the government's biggest decarbonisation measure and that weakening it would bring environmental costs without easing living-cost pressures.

Support for a lower target is also emerging from MPs representing industrial areas. Antonia Bance says a 50% zero-emission vehicle target by 2030 would offer manufacturers a more realistic pathway while still keeping the UK on track for net zero, adding that ministers also need to protect jobs, investment and domestic supply chains.

The internal dispute is becoming a broader test of Labour's green economic strategy. Some MPs fear that moves such as weakening the EV mandate, alongside approval of the Jackdaw gasfield, are eroding the party's environmental credentials and could strengthen the Green party if voters conclude the government is retreating from progressive climate policy.

Earlier, we outlined how BYD Malaysia moved ahead with Inokom CKD assembly plans to support local vehicle production.

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