Jaguar Land Rover, Mini and Stellantis have all confirmed their net-zero plans will remain unchanged regardless of any delay in the UK's 2030 petrol and diesel car sale ban.
As speculation builds that prime mininster Rishi Sunak’s government is considering delaying the ban, the trio of UK-based manufacturers confirmed commitment to their current decarbonisation plans.
Mini and Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA, EPA:STLA), which are both targeting net-zero operations by 2030, reiterated environmental commitments through spokespeople.
Tata Motors Limited (NYSE:TTM)'s Jaguar Land Rover said it "was on track" to becoming a "‘pure-electric brand" by 2025, meanwhile.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) was among those urging the government not to rethink the ban, with the firm's UK chair Lisa Brankin urging “ambition, commitment and consistency” from ministers.
“A relaxation of 2030 would undermine all three,” she said.
“We need the policy focus trained on bolstering the electric vehicle (EV) market in the short term and supporting consumers while headwinds are strong.”
Delaying the sale ban until 2035, as reports suggest, would contradict this, industry body The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) added.
“Consumers must want to make the switch,” group chief executive Mike Hawes said, “which requires from government a clear, consistent message.”
Home secretary Suella Braverman commented on Wednesday that the planet would not be saved “by bankrupting the British people”, in what appeared to be a precursor to a speech due by the prime minister later in the day.
The government had unveiled the ban in 2020 under former prime minister Boris Johnson, with petrol and diesel vehicle sales ending in 2030, followed by those of hybrids in 2035.
Braverman’s comments relate to the often higher prices for EV models than their internal combustion counterparts.
However, the gap between prices of used EVs and their fossil-fuelled alternatives has narrowed recently as more and more models hit the market.
For instance, a 3-year-old used Tesla was £3,200 more expensive than a similarly aged BMW 3 Series in June, according to Auto Trader, having been worth £3,600 more in April.
A 3-year-old electric Jaguar I-Pace actually cost £2,000 less than a fossil-fuelled F-Pace, meanwhile, after being just £600 cheaper two months earlier.
Come July, the average price of a used EV on Auto Trader was £35,297, which - while still higher than the entire second-hand market average of £17,819 - was down 21.6% on the same month in 2022.
As a result, Auto Trader's commercial director Ian Plummer dubbed the U-turn a “headache” for the industry.
“It is hardly going to encourage the vast majority of drivers who are yet to buy an electric car to make the switch.
“Rather than grasp the challenge and use the tax system to ease concerns over affordability, the prime minister has taken the easy option with one eye on polling day.”
RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding suggested the change was “hard” to understand, all the while.
“The car industry [is] confident about its ability to make the switch away from pure petrol and diesel engines by 2030 whilst still meeting the appetite of the UK market for new cars,” he said.