Not really. The net zero legislation is directed at vehicle manufacturing, as such the manufacturers are already implementing changes away from ICE and on to EV.S it does not matter what wishful thinking exists amongst the population, the vehicle manufacturers are already implementing change. Yes, there will be a lot of ice cars around, but restrictions Against there use will be enforced. Every town and city will become ulez, and that is ev,s only. Additionally, as petrol declines pumps will disappear and charging stations take their place. I,m sorry you can only think in terms of where we are now and cannot extrapolate where we will be in 2, or 5, or 10 years from now. Even when BoJo moved the date back to 2035 and everyone cheered. Starmer made an announcement 4 hours later saying when Labour get into power, the date will be moved back to 2030. It was obvious bojo was desperate to win a few more votes, little good it did them. Anyway, its a one-way street.
UK car manufacturing has plummeted to its lowest level in 43 years, driven by a combination of factory closures and the government’s electric vehicle mandate. November last year, the UK automotive industry faced a staggering decline throughout 2024, reflecting a 30% drop from the previous year’s numbers and establishing November as the worst production month since 1980. 2025 UK automotive industry is still seeing a significant decline in vehicle production for 2025. In the first half of the year, new vehicle manufacturing dropped by 11.9% compared to the same period in 2024, the lowest in 72 years.
Fleet news also reported earlier this year that vehicle manufacturers are predicted to miss zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate new car sales targets by over 345,000 units by 2028, according to new data.
BMW is holding back on investing £50m at it’s Oxford Mini plant, Stellantis (Vauchall) removed van making from the UK , which saw the closure of Luton. At the same time Stellantis has also said holding back its investment at it’s Ellesmere Port plant, after it promised to, on the closure of Luton, blaming both the ZEV mandate and weak electric vehicle sales.
Nissan is currently facing significant financial challenges, at the same time it’s facing significant challenges with the UK’s ZEV mandate and if facing a downturn in electric vehicle sale, due to a slowdown in consumer demand. challenges. Toyota’s decision to not fully commit to the electric vehicle route in the UK is part of a broader strategy to diversify its offerings and adapt to the evolving automotive market. Suzuki, whils’t some of it’s vehicles are built at UK Toyota plant, it too is facing similar challenges to other manufacturers. Ford is currently facing challenges with the ZEV mandate in both it’s car and van market. Ford’s UK operations are also facing challenges in transitioning to electric vehicles due to a slow adoption rate and the need for government support.
Thats about it for the UK’s bread and butter mainstram automotive manufacturing. If they close or relocate, because of the gvenments 2030 date and ZEV mandate or contine struggle, thats gong to see alot of workers on the dole, a further downturn in the econmy, regardless of any legislation and then, who should we blame? Not the manufacturers for sure, as relocating to other european destinations would see cheaper overhead costs (thanks Ed), no pressure to meet 2030 deadlines and no silly ZEV fines, if they didn’t want to sell cars here for the forseeable future and most of all, it would make sense for all europe, to be on the same hymn sheet, because most of the cars we drive are built in the EU. But by that time, we will all have digital ID’s and be under a authoritarian regime, so it won”t matter anyway!
Oh and Bojo had long been out of mainstream politics by the time Starmergeddon arrived.