Car manufacturers are having to ration the sales of petrol and hybrid cars in the UK to avoid falling foul of the government’s rules on zero emission vehicle sales, according to the head of one of Britain’s biggest dealership chains.
According to the Daily Mail, Vertu Motors chief executive Robert Forrester said automakers were operating under a “state imposed supply chain” preventing them from selling the cars customers want.
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He claimed manufacturers were having to deliberately withhold cars from customers for months with some waiting until next February to get cars they were ordering today.
Passed into law under the Conservative government, now out of power, the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate required 22% of all vehicles to be sold this year to be zero emission.
The paper noted the target would rise every year, hitting 80% in 2030 and 100% in 2035. Automakers exceeding their quota would have to pay a fine of GBP15,000 per non-compliant car to the government.
Car makers have previously criticised the ZEV mandate rollout, claiming it could force them to quit the UK, the Daily Mail said, adding Forrester’s comments were the first sign the scheme was directly affecting British buyers.
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By GlobalDataVertu Motors, which operates dealerships selling multiple franchises, said many automakers were struggling to shift enough electric vehicles amid a dip in demand.
In remarks reported by the Daily Telegraph, Forrester said: “‘”It’s almost as if we can’t supply the cars that people want, but we’ve got plenty of the cars that maybe they don’t want.
“They (manufacturers) are trying to avoid the fines. So they’re constraining the ability for us to supply petrol cars in order to try and keep to the government targets.”
Manufacturers had warned earlier this year the ZEV mandate would potentially constrain the number of cars companies could sell in the UK, limiting the range of vehicles available to drivers.
However, sales of EVs reached 23% of new vehicle market share in August, meaning manufacturers exceeded this month’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) target, according to New AutoMotive’s latest Electric Car Count.
August’s sales were so strong that no additional growth was needed in the share of BEV sales in the remaining months of 2024 for the market to meet ZEV mandate targets, it said in a statement emailed to media.
Hybrid vehicles also surged to a 35% market share in July, meaning petrol, which fell to 36%, was on track to be knocked off the top spot.
Many Chinese brands recorded a significant fall in sales, defying expectations of a flood of vehicles from China following the introduction of EU tariffs. Tesla had lost market share each month in the last year.
Ben Nelmes, CEO of New AutoMotive, said: “The government can have confidence in following through on its manifesto commitment to reintroduce the 2030 ban on sales of petrol and diesel cars.”
The Daily Mail noted Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares had warned last April he could not afford to keep selling electric vehicles at heavy discounts in order to encourage sales.
He said the mandate law was “terrible for the UK”, adding: “I’m not going to sell cars at a loss.”
Vertu’s Forrester added: “As Carlos Tavares said, why should they sell cars at a loss because of UK government policy?
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) expected just 18.5% of new car sales to be purely electric, down from an earlier prediction of 19.8%.
Vertu said its new car sales were down 5.8% in the five months to the end of July, but there was strong demand for used vehicles.
The SMMT said used sales were largely being driven by demand for electric cars which depreciate heavily after being purchased new.
A Department for Transport spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘We do not recognise these claims, with industry data showing that the UK car market is as strong as ever.
“The target for zero emission cars in 2024 is 22% which gives manufacturers flexibility to sell a range of products, as they have done in previous years.”
