To keep companies afloat while demand for EVs grows, another insider suggestion is that the government is weighing up whether to reduce fines for manufacturers straying over the mandate’s limit, which is set at 22 per cent of output for 2024.
The government has already pretty much said that this is going to change. They seem to be suggesting that the year by year targets will either go, or not be accompanied by fines, as long as the end result in 2030/35 is achieved. Whilst this would be a short term improvement for manufacturers, it doesn’t address the fact that the 2030/35 deadline remains in cloud cuckoo land territory, as the current and forecasted trajectory of EV take up doesn’t even remotely hit those dates, and they seem to be overlooking the major fact that consumers won’t be forced into buying something that isn’t suitable for them. The average age of cars on our roads is already 10 years old, and I can see that rising as the deadline looms, hence why it will have to change as new car sales will slow, which will fly against the governments stated number one priority of driving growth. Considering that Rachel Reeves tells everyone that she was (allegedly) an economist and got a masters degree in economics, it’s amazing how they don’t seem to be able to join the dots. I only managed an A level in economics, yet I can shoot boulders, never mind peas, through the holes in their disjointed and conflicting strategies 🤔😂