UK opens review of zero-emission vehicle mandate as government tests lower 2030 targets

The UK government has opened a review of its zero-emission vehicle mandate, presenting options that could reduce the proportion of new cars and vans manufacturers are required to make zero-emission by 2030 while retaining the requirement for all new cars and vans to be zero-emission by 2035.

The consultation, published on 14 August, examines the annual sales trajectories, existing compliance flexibilities, plug-in hybrid treatment, and other possible changes to the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes Order. Responses are invited until 23 October.

The current mandate sets a headline target under which 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans must be zero-emission in 2030. Manufacturers may comply through qualifying vehicle sales, the trading of allowances, and mechanisms allowing performance under different parts of the scheme to be converted or carried between years.

For cars, the government presents three illustrative trajectories under which the 2030 headline target would fall to 70%, 60%, or 50%. A fourth option would retain the existing 80% target while extending or adjusting compliance flexibilities. Equivalent options for vans would set the 2030 target at 60%, 50%, or 40%, or retain the current 70% trajectory with additional flexibility.

All four governments involved in the review say their commitment to the transition remains unchanged. The UK government continues to support the phase-out of new cars relying solely on internal-combustion engines from 2030 and a fully zero-emission new car and van market from 2035.

However, the consultation acknowledges pressure arising from energy costs, international competition, changes in other automotive markets, consumer demand, and uncertainty surrounding vehicle exports. It also asks whether existing flexibilities should continue beyond 2029 and whether changes should be made to the treatment of plug-in hybrid vehicles.

The government’s own modelling indicates that each of the four illustrative options would reduce carbon savings compared with the existing baseline. The estimated average annual loss during the sixth carbon-budget period ranges from 0.5 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent under the fourth option to 8.4 million tonnes under the third and least stringent trajectory.

Evidence submitted through the consultation may inform amendments to the mandate. No decision has yet been taken on whether the existing annual targets will change.

Preliminary data put battery-electric car share at 26.3% across reporting EU markets

Battery-electric vehicles accounted for 26.3% of new passenger-car registrations across 12 reporting EU member states in the latest preliminary market data published by the European Alternative Fuels Observatory.

The August data update records 202,597 battery-electric registrations across the participating countries. The figures remain preliminary because registration data were not yet available for all 27 member states when the update was prepared.

EAFO also reports that the number of public recharging points across the EU stood at 1,157,551. Unlike the registration figure, the infrastructure total covers the EU27, although the observatory’s datasets remain subject to revision as national information is updated and harmonised.

The figures follow a preliminary July update covering 13 member states, which recorded 238,897 battery-electric registrations and a market share of 25.3%. Differences in the countries reporting in each update mean that the two registration totals should not be treated as a direct month-to-month comparison.

The latest results nevertheless indicate that battery-electric vehicles continue to account for around one quarter of new registrations in the reporting markets. Final EU-wide figures will be required to determine whether this share was sustained across the bloc as a whole.

EAFO, which is managed by the European Commission, compiles national information on alternatively fuelled vehicles and infrastructure, including public charging, hydrogen refuelling, and the deployment of cleaner technologies across other transport modes.

EUI brief warns service-facility bottlenecks could constrain EU rail growth

European efforts to increase passenger and freight rail traffic risk being constrained by inadequate access to maintenance depots, terminals, marshalling yards, and other supporting facilities, according to a policy brief published by the Florence School of Regulation.

The report, based on discussions at the 28th Florence Rail Forum, argues that expanding track capacity alone will not deliver the EU’s rail objectives if capacity in the facilities required to operate trains does not grow alongside it. Railway operators may secure train paths but remain unable to launch or expand services because maintenance slots, terminal capacity, storage tracks, or other essential facilities are unavailable.

Access is principally governed by Directive 2012/34/EU establishing a Single European Railway Area and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2177. These require access to service facilities and basic services to be provided on non-discriminatory terms, with refusals generally permitted only where a viable alternative exists.

However, the report identifies continued problems with transparency, lengthy access procedures, inconsistent enforcement, and incomplete information about available capacity. New entrants can face particular difficulties where facilities are controlled by incumbent operators, while national regulators differ in their powers and application of the EU framework.

Maintenance capacity is identified as an important barrier to competition in passenger rail. Existing facilities are reported to be approaching saturation in several markets, while developing a new maintenance centre can take more than five years because of land constraints, permitting requirements, network connections, and construction times. The report argues that access to incumbent facilities and investment in competing capacity should therefore be treated as complementary rather than alternative approaches.

The authors call for a more proportionate regulatory model distinguishing facilities with monopoly or quasi-monopoly characteristics from those operating in competitive markets. Strategic assets that cannot readily be replicated could face stronger access and enforcement requirements, while facilities exposed to effective competition could be subject to lighter oversight to preserve investment incentives.

Service facilities should also be incorporated into EU and national rail-capacity planning, according to the report. It calls for closer coordination between infrastructure managers and facility operators, common methodologies, interoperable data, and more reliable information on static and dynamically available capacity.

The report concludes that the effectiveness of the EU’s new capacity-management framework will depend on whether train paths and supporting facilities are planned as part of a single operational system. Without this coordination, service-facility constraints could continue to limit market entry, cross-border services, and the wider shift of passenger and freight traffic to rail.