The Zero Emission Vehicle mandate became law in January 2024, described by BEAMA and the Green Finance Institute as the government's pathway towards all new cars and vans being zero emission by 20351. The Department for Transport confirmed a national target of 22% for cars and 10% for vans in 20242.
The mandate places increasingly stringent quotas on manufacturers2. It sits alongside the earlier decision to move the ban on new petrol and diesel car and van sales from 2030 to 20352, a subject covered in when sales of new petrol and diesel cars end.
"While the government may have pushed back the ban on new ICE-powered car and van sales from 2030 to 2035, the ZEV mandate is still a hugely important step forward for the industry. Considered to be the biggest mechanism to accelerate the transition to electrification, the mandate will levy increasingly stringent quotas on manufacturers."
Adoption has risen sharply. Annual electric vehicle sales grew from fewer than 1,000 in 2011, less than 0.1% of total registrations, to nearly 315,000 by the end of 2023, or 16.5% of total registrations1. BEAMA and the Green Finance Institute put the number of battery electric vehicles in the UK at 1 million1. Charging provision figures differ by date and source: myenergi cites Zap-Map data showing 16,000 public chargers installed during 2023, taking the total to 53,200, a 43% increase on 20222, while the BEAMA and Green Finance Institute guide records 59,590 public charging points in the UK as of 30 March 20241.
Public funding has been committed in stages. Ofgem approved £300m in May 2021, half of it for developing electric vehicle infrastructure including rapid chargepoints1. In March 2022 the government published its updated Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy, pledging up to £1.6bn of public funding for charging infrastructure1. The government has invested £2.5bn in the transition to electric vehicles since 20201.
Why it matters for households
The mandate governs what manufacturers may sell, not what households may own or drive, so it changes the choice of new vehicles on forecourts rather than the status of existing petrol or diesel cars. For a household considering a home chargepoint, the practical picture is set out in the regulation and policy landscape: 82% of electric vehicle drivers have access to charging at home and 93% use public charging networks, while around a third of the UK does not have access to off-street parking1. Charging at home links a car to the household electricity supply, and the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021, in force since 30 June 2022, apply to chargepoints sold in the UK1. BEAMA and the Green Finance Institute estimate investment in charging infrastructure at at least £20bn by 20301. Transport is responsible for 26% of UK greenhouse gas emissions, more than any other sector, and is linked to more than 40,000 excess deaths in the UK every year1.
What happens next
The 2024 targets of 22% for cars and 10% for vans are the first step in quotas that tighten annually towards 20352. On charging, chargepoint operators must enable drivers to pay through at least one roaming provider at their public charge points by the end of 20251. The government ran a consultation on the design of a fund in February 2024, with applications due by March 2024 and projects extended to complete by 1 March 20251.