Beloved British carmaker ‘vows to stop’ building motors in UK & close huge site ‘in under a year’ over ‘stupid’ EV rules
A BELOVED British carmaker has said it could stop building vehicles in the UK and close its huge factory “in under a year” over “stupid” EV rules.
Bosses at the firm’s parent company, which is among the largest auto manufacturers in the world, said it may be forced to pull out of Britain by what they called “hostile” regulations.
Vauxhall has maintained its factories in Ellesmere Port and Luton for decades, with the company moving to the latter site over 100 years ago.
However, Maria Grazia Davino, head of Stellantis UK (which owns Vauxhall) has suggested that they could be forced to shut the plants thanks to the Government’s electrification rules.
Ms Davino slammed the ZEV Mandate, which limits the sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles ahead of a 2035 ban, “as hostile” to carmakers, asking: “Why should we keep investing?”
She told Autocar: “In the UK, for sure, there will be consequences on the production set-up.
“Stellantis UK does not stop [but] Stellantis production in the UK could stop.
What is the ZEV Mandate?
Many Brits might be aware that the Government is enforcing a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2035.
This was originally set for 2030 but PM Rishi Sunak pushed the deadline back last year.
However, Mr Sunak did not announce any relaxation in the ZEV Mandate, which requires firms to produce progressively fewer internal combustion models in the years running up to the cut-off.
ZEV stands for Zero Emission Vehicle, with manufacturers ordered to have a certain percentage of total sales made up of such motors in each year.
Most companies are doing this by increasing their focus on battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Brands including Ford, Jaguar Land Rover and Vauxhall have all announced they will be electric only by 2030.
Many are making the transition five years ahead of schedule as the mandate requires 80% of sales to be ZEVs by that year anyway.
Failure to do so can see companies slapped with fines of up to £1,500 for each petrol or diesel car they produce over the 20% threshold.
ZEV requirements per year as a % of sales:
2024 – 22%
2025 – 28%
2025 – 33%
2027 – 38%
2028 – 52%
2029 – 66%
2030 – 80%
2031 – 84%
2032 – 88%
2033 – 92%
2034 – 96%
2035 – 100%
“It’s not what we want to do.”
She added that the decision on the future of UK production would be made in “less than a year” with the mandate steadily increasing on an annual basis.
Ms Davino’s statements echoed those made previously by Carlos Tavares, Stellantis’ chief executive, who labelled the rules “stupid”.
The motor boss even suggested that they could “kill” the nation’s auto industry as a whole.
Despite the potentially gloomy outlook, though, Ms Davino insisted there were still measures which could salvage Stellantis’ production plans.
She called on ministers to reduce VAT on vehicles at the point of sale, as well as cutting the levy on energy costs to bring down EV charging prices.
This was backed by Ashley Andrew, president of rivals Hyundai’s UK division, who urged the Government to “halve” the current rate of 20%.
The Department for Transport declined to comment on Ms Davino’s statements regarding the ZEV Mandate but emphasised that the policy had been developed following a consultation with the industry.
They also pointed out that there are multiple ways in which companies can comply with the regulations and that some firms are already ahead of their targets for 2024.