Nelmes told Auto Express that “The two companies have quite a different story going on. VW finished with a significant surplus of credits last year, which are bankable. So what we’re seeing is that they don’t necessarily need to make their numbers go green for this year.”
“Stellantis is a bit of a different story,” Nelmes continued. “They’re behind target and they were behind last year as well. They’re doing a decent job of selling EVs [and] hybrids… but both of those things are just not enough to bring them to the target”.
While VW and Stellantis are certainly the standout problem cases, almost every other European, Japanese and Korean automotive conglomerate is also struggling to shift enough EVs to satisfy the UK Government. In fact, the only European brand to do so is Renault which, thanks in part to the success of the Renault 5, is estimated to be over 2,000 credits clear of the threshold by year end.
Further calls for change in ZEV Mandate
With this in mind, the SMMT’s chief executive, Mike Hawes, is also calling for change to the rules. He highlighted how; “record [sales] levels are still not enough to meet mandated targets. Manufacturers are investing billions developing and bringing the vehicles to market – and spending billions more to sell them, yet the market is still not moving fast enough. Reforming the mandate now is essential not just to keep the transition on track but to protect the UK’s competitiveness, attract investment and safeguard jobs.”
At the other end of the spectrum, CEO of Electric Vehicles UK, Tanya Sinclair, said that “[The] Government just needs to align itself with the British motorist’s direction of travel – not certain carmakers’ lack of ambition – towards an electric future.”
In June the Government confirmed it will hold a consultation on reforming the ZEV Mandate to more realistically match demand. EVs accounted for 30 per cent of all new cars sold last month and roughly a quarter of registrations in 2026 so far; last year, EV market share stood at 21.6 per cent at the end of H1. In total, over 1.1 million new cars were registered in the first six months of 2026, with market share of petrol and diesel cars reducing in volume and the slack taken up by hybrids and EVs.
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