UK receives backlash for considering weaker 2030 EV sales mandate

For over a decade, the U.S. has been playing catch-up with Europe when it comes to electric vehicle adoption. But low demand here in the states has original equipment manufacturers like Ford, GM and Stellantis reassessing their respective EV game plans.

U.S. EV demand fell off a cliff in 2025 after the government let the $7,500 tax incentive for purchasing a new EV expire, and the industry is struggling to regain its footing. After starting the year on a record-setting pace, EV sales actually fell by 2% year-over-year in 2025.

In Q1 2026, OEMs sold 216,399 fully electric vehicles (BEVs) in the U.S., a 27% year-over-year decline. While the more than 85,000 EVs sold in May were the most sold in the U.S. since the expiration of the tax credits, there is evidence that demand isn't strictly tied to pricing. The average transaction price for EVs has fallen for 11 consecutive months and was down to $54,532 in May 2026.

Meanwhile, across the pond in the UK, the perception is that the more mature EV market is ready to see rapid growth, especially as more low-cost Chinese-built vehicles enter the market. But the latest data from the region shows that demand may have already peaked there.

UK lowers EV sales target

The United Kingdom is racing towards a government mandate to ensure that 80% of all new cars sold in the country are EVs by 2030, but recently, the government has been getting cold feet about such a dramatic transformation.

According to the BBC, car makers and trade unions have been lobbying the government for years to reduce that target due to concerns over costs and jobs.

The UK government will reportedly consult on what the new 2030 target should be in a process that could take months and could end with the country reducing that number significantly.

Lawmakers are considering a range between 50% and 70% of sales being BEV, according to the BBC, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to meet with the UK car industry this week to discuss the policy shift.

Under the current Zero Emission Vehicles mandate, the UK targeted EV new car sales reaching 28% of market share in 2025 and 33% in 2026, before incrementally climbing to the 80% target by the end of the decade.

Car companies that fail to hit that mark face a potential fine of 12,000 pounds per vehicle, though they can also buy credits from other OEMs that have sold more EVs or low-emission vehicles or diesel cars than they need to.

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Environmental groups push back on the attempt to water down the UKs 80% EV sales target

While politicians and auto industry execs consider watering down the 2030 mandate for 80% of vehicles sold to be electric, concerned environmental groups are urging lawmakers to remain firm.

The EV mandate is "vital for driving investment in our charging infrastructure" because it has "given the market confidence to commit vast sums of private capital to building out these networks across the country," UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association's chief executive James Alexander told the BBC.

"Any attempt to water down these targets could send warning signals to these investors about the government's long-term commitment to electrifying our transport network."

He wasn't the only person with negative backlash towards the report that the new mandate could be as low as 50% of sales.

Greg Jackson, chief executive of home energy supplier Octopus Energy, told The Guardian that the government was choosing "short-termist incumbent lobbying instead of the long-term future of industry."

"The fossil fuel market is shrinking globally, and our best hope is to speed up development of electric vehicles, not go the other way," Jackson said. "This hesitation undermines the credibility of government commitments, which were supposed to give certainty to investors."

Meanwhile, Vicky Read, the CEO of EV lobbying group ChargeUK, told The Guardian that the new proposal was "astonishing" and could cause tens of thousands of jobs to be lost.

"The charging sector has ploughed billions into putting chargers in the ground on the basis of this policy, ahead of profitability," Read said. "This government said it would not flip-flop like the previous did. To move the goalposts again would be exactly that – an act of self-harm, denying the country a forward-facing, economically prosperous industry, leaving us behind the rest of the world."

Related: The fastest EV charger in the world isn't coming to America

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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 4:33 PM.