Britain eases electric vehicle sales targets for automakers
April 6 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday eased targets forcing automakers in the country to produce more electric vehicles, in an effort to ease pressure on UK businesses from Donald Trump's trade tariffs.
The government announced that the 2030 phase-out date for new petrol and diesel cars will not change, but under the new plan, it will allow full hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles and cars – like the Toyota Prius and Nissan e-Power – to be sold until 2035.
"Global trade is being transformed so we must go further and faster in reshaping our economy" Keir Starmer said in a statement while unveiling the plans.
The measures announced will also exempt small micro-volume manufacturers including McLaren and Aston Martin from the Mandate targets in an effort to save British supercars and advanced engineering.
Starmer said on Saturday that the government's priority remains to try and secure a trade deal with the U.S. which could include tariff exemptions, but was ready to step in to help "shelter" the country's businesses from the fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariff policies.
British carmakers mainly sell luxury and premium cars to the United States, which is their second largest export market after the European Union. More than 1 million British-made cars were shipped to the U.S. in 2024, worth about 7.6 billion pounds ($9.79 billion).
While overall EV sales rose last year, they were driven by commercial buyers, with only one in 10 individual car buyers choosing to go electric.
EVs made up 19% of sales last month, well short of the 28% that carmakers would have needed to achieve in 2025 according to the ZEV mandate.
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