New UK laws mandating the switch to electric vehicles have commenced, setting out the ambition to produce 100% zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the UK by 2035.

Following extensive consultation with industry and manufacturers, the mandate provides them with the certainty they have called for to safeguard skilled British jobs.

The ZEV mandate sets out the percentage of new zero emission cars and vans manufacturers will be required to provide each year up to 2030. 90% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in Britain will now be zero emission by 2030, with aims to increase to 100% by 2035.

This follows the decision taken by the prime minister to delay the ban on new diesel and petrol cars from 2030 to 2035, putting the UK in line with other major global economies such as France, Germany, Sweden, and Canada.

“Alongside us having spent more than £2 billion in the transition to electric vehicles, our zero emission vehicle mandate will further boost the economy and support manufacturers to safeguard skilled British jobs in the automotive industry,” technology and decarbonisation minister, Anthony Browne, said.

“We are providing investment certainty for the charging sector to expand our charging network which has already grown by 44% since this time last year. This will support the constantly growing number of EVs in the UK, which currently account for over 16% of the new UK car market.”

In a boost for the economy, the new laws will help households make the switch to electric, supporting growth of EV sales in the second-hand market and incentivising charging to roll out more widely across the country.

The government’s schemes to lower the upfront and running costs of owning an EV includes the plug-in van grant of up to £2,500 for small vans and £5,000 for large vans until at least 2025 and £350 off the cost of homeplace chargepoints for people living in flats.

Latest government statistics from September 2023 show that there has been a 41% increase in zero emission vehicles registered for the first time.

The UK’s charging network continues to grow as well – there are now over 500,000 public chargepoints, with 44% more than this time last year, putting the country well on track to reach 300,000 chargepoints by 2030. The certainty of the ZEV mandate will give industry renewed confidence to invest in our infrastructure.

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Additionally, last month in UK and EU agreed to extend trade rules on electric vehicles, saving manufacturers and consumers up to £4.3 billion in additional costs and providing long-term certainty for industry.

To support the rollout of EV infrastructure, applications for the first round of the £381 million Local EV Infrastructure Fund are currently being assessed by the government.

This funding will deliver tens of thousands more chargepoints in local areas across England and transform the availability of charging for drivers without off-street parking. The government has also launched a £70 million pilot to support the deployment of ultra-rapid charging points at motorway service areas.