Alexander Admits Scrapped EV Targets Would Have Had ‘Negligible’ Emissions Impact – Guido Fawkes

Alexander Admits Scrapped EV Targets Would Have Had ‘Negligible’ Emissions Impact

mdi-fullscreen

Starmer has rolled out changes to electric vehicle targets to try to soften the blow of Trump’s 25% tariff on car imports. The 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars is going ahead, despite 71.7% of this year’s new car sales being petrol/diesel. Fines for manufacturers missing quotas are down to £12,000 a pop from £15,000, and top-end car manufacturers including Aston Martin, McLaren, Lotus, and Bentley are exempt. Hybrid car sales can also continue until 2035 and there is an extension on the use of credits to offset sales of non-electric cars. Von der Leyen is examining similar rule tweaks in the EU…

Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith slammed the changes as “more Red Ed than Red Bull” while Ford’s UK boss Lisa Brankin said “It is not the giant leap required.” Not enough to prevent the slow-motion car crash, then…

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander was on the morning round to defend the changes, saying that suggestions the government is forcing electric cars on a reluctant public at the industry’s expense were “not true,” and that “the impact upon carbon emissions as a result of these changes is negligible.” Begging the question – what was the point in the rules in the first place?