The boss of Kia UK has welcomed the UK government’s new consultation on the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate as the firm seeks clarity over what types of hybrid cars it will be allowed to sell after 2030.
According to current legislation, sales of new cars powered purely by internal combustion engines will be banned in 2030, while some hybrids will be allowed to remain on sale until 2035, but exactly which kinds will qualify has yet to be confirmed.
Under plans laid out by Boris Johnson’s Conservative government in November 2020, hybrids sold after 2030 will need to have “significant zero-emission capability”. However, the meaning of "significant" has yet to be clarified, despite Rishi Sunak’s government delaying the pure-ICE car sales ban to 2035 two years ago and the current Labour administration’s commitment to reinstating the original moratorium of 2030.
“Getting clarity on that will help us to plan our product strategy through that period,” Kia UK CEO Paul Philpott told Autocar.
"We do hope that from the consultation we get clarity on exactly what we can sell between 2030 and 2035, because that will help us make the final decisions about product line-up during that period.
“We've got to be at 80% EV by 2030, but what we don't know is what the other 20% can be. So we do need clarity on that urgently. And coming out of this consultation, I hope we get that.
“In the meantime, the strength of Kia is a car for everyone, and we will keep developing our ICE and hybrid range for as long as we can.”
Speaking more broadly on the ZEV mandate consultation, Philpott said: “I'm pleased we finally got a consultation. That has taken six months to get to, and it was delivered just in 2024, on Christmas Eve.
“We've got that now. We've got to utilise that, and we've got six weeks to develop our arguments to the government and make them compelling.
"There are questions in the consultation document about potential for demand-based measures and potential for extended flexibilities.
“It's clear no one's walking away from the ZEV mandate, and indeed, the trajectory [for ramping up EV sales] is unlikely to change. It's very clear it’s going to restate its manifesto commitment to stop sales of new ICE cars from 2030.
“Getting clarity on exactly what we can sell between 2030 and 2035 before 100% EVs in 2035 has been a question that we've asked for about two years and no one has been able to clarify.”
Philpott added that the period from 2026 to 2030 – when the mandated proportion of EV sales will be ramped up from 33% to 80% – “concerns” him, because it's such a steep rise over a period of just four years.
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