Carmakers claimed that leaving electric car sales rules unchanged would threaten British jobs and cost them hundreds of millions of pounds, according to documents that show the private lobbying for a slower transition away from fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Toyota claimed that rules forcing them to sell more electric cars each year would harm investment in the UK, according to responses to proposed changes submitted to the government. The responses were obtained by Fast Charge,<\/a> a newsletter covering electric cars, and shared with the Guardian.<\/p>\n JLR, the Land Rover maker, said leaving the rules unchanged would \u201cmaterially damage UK producers\u2019 ability to invest in vehicle lines\u201d.<\/p>\n The last Conservative government said last year that automotive manufacturers must sell an increasing proportion of electric cars each year, or else face steep fines, under rules known as the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate<\/a>.<\/p>\n Electric car sales have increased rapidly, accounting for more than a fifth of the market in July, and every carmaker complied with targets last year. However, carmakers earlier overestimated the demand for battery vehicles, meaning they have been forced to cut prices to attract buyers.<\/p>\n Lower prices are good for consumers, but the industry has argued they are unsustainable. After intensive lobbying, the Labour government backed down in April<\/a>, adding new \u201cflexibilities\u201d to rules that will allow carmakers to sell more petrol cars.<\/p>\n The consultation responses reveal the detailed arguments that carmakers made in private in favour of leniency, despite advice from the government\u2019s official climate adviser that the changes could raise UK carbon emissions<\/a>.<\/p>\n The German manufacturer BMW<\/a> said the UK had become worse for manufacturing since Brexit, but added that the ZEV mandate was \u201cmuch more radical and far-reaching\u201d than the equivalent rules in the EU or California.<\/p>\n BMW, which makes Mini and Rolls-Royce cars in Britain, wrote: \u201cThe UK has already become a far more difficult place to produce vehicles now post-Brexit, and a further challenging market environment could ultimately damage competitiveness and have a detrimental effect on the 8,000 jobs \u2013 up to 50,000 with supply chain \u2013 we currently retain in the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s Toyota, which runs factories in Derbyshire and north Wales, said \u201cpenalties could amount to hundreds of millions of pounds for individual manufacturers, a level that could place employment and investment across the industry at risk.\u201d The world\u2019s biggest carmaker by volume has focused on hybrid cars, combining a smaller battery and a petrol engine<\/a>, and has lobbied successfully for hybrid sales to be allowed until 2035 in the UK.<\/p>\n Its Japanese rival Nissan<\/a>, whose sole European factory is in Sunderland, said carmakers needed more flexibilities or else face \u201ccritical levels\u201d of costs that would divert money \u201caway from battery EV research and development in the UK\u201d.<\/p>\n JLR, which has the most British factories, complained that a rule that allowed carmakers to buy \u201ccredits\u201d from rivals whose electric car sales were above target meant that British companies were subsidising rivals particularly in China, which dominates electric car production<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, campaigners counter that the rules worked by forcing carmakers to go electric.<\/p>\n Ben Nelmes, the chief executive of New Automotive, a group advocating the switch to electric vehicles, said: \u201cThe car industry\u2019s own consultation responses confirm that the ZEV mandate\u2019s 2024 targets were met, proving the policy is a powerful driver of change.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Business Today<\/p>\n Get set for the working day \u2013 we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cThe focus should now shift to accelerating the transition, as this data shows the UK automotive industry is capable of delivering cheaper, cleaner transport.\u201d<\/p>\n Tom Riley, the author of the Fast Charge newsletter, said: \u201cCarmakers love to wave the union jack when it suits them, but threatening UK jobs and investment to weaken climate policy is a cynical tactic.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group, said: \u201cThe automotive industry faces unprecedented challenges, not least the shift to EVs against a subdued economic backdrop and fierce global competition. The ZEV mandate intensifies the pressure with the timescale necessitating brands spend billions to drive demand to achieve compliance. UK manufacturers have consistently warned that this cost was unsustainable and would threaten further investment.<\/p>\n He said the government was right to change previous targets, which would have meant \u201cdecarbonisation at the cost of de-industrialisation\u201d.<\/p>\n A BMW spokesperson said the company supported UK and global climate targets, but added: \u201cWe believe consumers will ultimately determine the pace of transition to ZEVs, as mandates do not create demand.\u201d<\/p>\n A Nissan spokesperson said: \u201cWe welcome the government\u2019s pragmatic approach to lower-than-anticipated EV take-up, including the introduction of consumer incentives designed to bring consumer demand closer to ZEV mandate requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n