The Business Secretary will face MPs amid mounting concerns over how the car industry will cope with current plans to boost the number of electric vehicles.
Jonathan Reynolds announced a “fast-track” consultation into the plans on Tuesday night and will follow up with a statement to the House on Wednesday.
He told car manufacturers he was “profoundly concerned” about how policies meant to phase out new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 were operating, and would consult on “a better way forward” while still keeping the target.
The move came after Vauxhall-owner Stellantis said it would close its van-making plant in Luton, putting 1,100 jobs at risk, amid what it called the “stringent” UK zero-emission vehicle mandate.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) warned the pace of the transition could hit carmakers as demand for zero emission vehicles “failed to meet ambition”.
The managing director of Ford UK said the car industry supports targets around electric vehicles but it needs Government-backed incentives to boost their uptake by customers.
Lisa Brankin said Ford has invested “significantly” in the production and development of EVs, with “well over” £350 million invested around electrification in the UK.
“So we kind of need to make it work,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Under the zero-emission vehicles (Zev) mandate, at least 22% of new cars sold by each manufacturer in the UK this year must be zero-emission, with the threshold rising each year.
The mandate as it stands sets out a target to reach 80% by 2030, but the Government has committed to bring the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans forward from 2035 to 2030, reversing a change introduced by Rishi Sunak’s government last year.
The consultation is not expected to result in changes to the Zev mandate’s percentages, but could include amendments to the options for how manufacturers who miss their targets can avoid being fined.
In his speech to the SMMT on Tuesday night, Mr Reynolds told the trade body the Government was “absolutely committed” to the 2030 target, but had “heard you loud and clear on the need for support to make this transition a success”.
Ms Brankin said it is important the consultation is fast and that the Government acts quickly on it.
“The one thing that we really need from the Government is Government-backed incentives to urgently boost the uptake of electric vehicles, because without demand the mandate just doesn’t work.”
Asked whether she is happy for the Government to stick to the targets around EVs and ending production of diesel and petrol cars as long as they help persuade customers to buy electric vehicles, Ms Brankin said: “Yes, I think so.
“As an industry we have repeatedly said that we support the Government’s trajectory and we support the ambition that the Government has set out, it’s just that there isn’t customer demand.”
Fiona Howarth, chief executive of Octopus Electric Vehicles, urged the Government to “hold firm” on its mandate, saying that EVs are cheaper to run than petrol cars for those with a driveway and that private investment would strengthen the public charging network.
She said: “Manufacturers that failed to invest in the future are now facing challenges.
“To secure long term jobs in the sector, the Government must hold firm on the Zev mandate and invest in targeted support for manufacturers committed to the electric transition and jobs in the UK.
“Changing the mandate would mean shooting ourselves in the foot by bowing to the pressure of a few laggard companies.”
Minister Stephen Morgan said the Government would work closely with industry in the UK to make sure its Zev mandate is rolled out effectively and that the required infrastructure, such as charging points, must be put in place to meet the targets.
“It is absolutely right that we’ve got [to have] the right infrastructure in place to make this a suitable journey and an easy journey for motorists to move towards,” he told Sky News.
Asked about the case that people do not want to switch to these cars, he said: “We’ve set out the ambition, we obviously need to take consumers with us.
“I know that Johnny Reynolds would do a good job on this work, and he will also be setting out more detail on this later in the House.”
