Fleets want fast action on ZEV mandate as targets bite (video)

Fleets want a speedy resolution to a consultation on the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate with it impacting the availability of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. 

The Government says it will launch a 'fast track' consultation on the ZEV mandate after mounting pressure from the auto industry.

Duncan Webb, fleet director at the AA, told Fleet News at 10 that he was concerned how long the ‘fast track’ consultation will actually take.

“I think everybody's tried to work with it (ZEV Mandate), but it's got to the point where it's starting to bite, and if we are still six months in and nothing changes, then I genuinely think supply chain problems in terms of what product we're going to get into the UK market is going to be even worse than it is now, and I think It's going to affect structural investment in in UK manufacturing.”

Stellantis recently announced plans to consolidate its electric van production in the UK at its Ellesmere Port plant, closing its factory in Luton and putting 1,100 jobs at risk.

The owner of four van brands, Vauxhall, Citroen, Peugeot and Fiat, blamed the UK’s ZEV mandate. 

The news from Stellantis came just days after Ford announced it was cutting 800 jobs in the UK over the next three years, blaming a weaker demand for EVs.

Webb said: “I think we should keep the targets, but maybe flex the calculation methods across the years to enable those targets to be achieved in a better way. But I think speed is of the essence.”

Appearing alongside Webb on the monthly Fleet News webinar, Fiona Massey, fleet consultant at Zenith, highlighted how car and van makers already have room for manoeuvre within the existing ZEV mandate rules.

“Manufacturers do still have some leeway there to try and make those improvements, even if they're not ready to go full thrust on to the pure BEV powertrains,” she said.

“I think the more clarity that our fleets can get, the better.”

The ZEV mandate requires more than a fifth (22%) of cars and 10% of vans sold by manufacturers in the UK to be fully electric this year.   

This has led to some manufacturers insisting fleet new vehicle orders must reflect the zero emission targets they are facing.  

Paul Hollick, chair of the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP), supports the ZEV mandate, but has always had concerns how it would impact the fleet market, with the limiting of ICE sales by some manufacturers.

“They want electric vans,” he explained, but they’re not yet ready operationally to deploy electric vans because of towing, because of the right vehicles, but also just the range.” 

Lorna McAtear, head of fleet at the National Grid and joint vice-chair of the AFP, added: “What all of the OEMs and the CPOs (charge point operators), and everybody else in the industry is asking for is confidence from the Government that EVs work.

“That will build consumer confidence, and this is where the help is needed. It's the retail market that's suffering more than everyone else.”

Watch the Fleet News at 10 ZEV mandate debate