Labour have been told to speed up the transition away from combustion vehicles to electric cars by a leading motoring expert. James Court, public policy director at Octopus Electric Vehicles has called on Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to “step on the gas” to get the transition completed.
James stressed the UK was already “10 years behind China” and needed to move quickly to catch up. It comes after Labour confirmed that the sale of brand-new petrol and diesel vehicles would be banned by the end of the decade. However, manufacturers will still be allowed to sell hybrid vehicles and combustion vans until 2035.
Speaking to GB News, James said: “We’re already 10 years behind China. We need to be stepping on the gas and making sure the transition happens quicker for the manufacturing industry.
“You’ve actually got more time when it comes to the purchasing and the buying of cars, what we need to accelerate is the manufacturing side. And that’s what the ZEV mandate was trying to do and it was doing it well.”
Last week, Labour confirmed a series of measures which water down elements of the Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate rules.
Officials confirmed flexibility would be increased so firms can build more electric cars in later years when the demand is thought to be higher.
Officials also confirmed the decision to allow hybrid sales until 2035 was to “help ease the transition and give industry more time to prepare”.
The Government claimed that demand for electric vehicles was already rising with March sales up over 40% on last year.
Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said: “We will always back British business. In the face of global economic challenges and stifled by a lack of certainty and direction for too long, our automotive industry deserves clarity, ambition and leadership. That is exactly what we are delivering today.
“Our ambitious package of strengthening reforms will protect and create jobs – making the UK a global automotive leader in the switch to EVs – all the while meeting our core manifesto commitment to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.”