The ZEV mandate and the EV transition

The ZEV mandate, set out in the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes Order 2023, requires a rising share of each manufacturer's new registrations to be zero emission every year. The 2026 target is 33% of new cars and 24% of new vans, rising to 38% and 34% from 2027, then 80% and 70% by 2030, with all new cars and vans due to be zero emission by 2035. A manufacturer that falls short can buy credits from other manufacturers or pay a compliance payment, cut from 1 January 2026 to £12,000 per car and £15,000 per van short of target.

The mandate binds manufacturers, not fleets. Its effect on a fleet is indirect: what a manufacturer is willing to supply, discount or hold back on petrol and diesel models to stay compliant. Demand still trails the curve: SMMT recorded battery electric registrations at 25.6% of new cars across the first eight months of 2026, a record for the period but well short of the 33% target manufacturers must hit for the year.

The government opened a consultation on 14 August 2026 into how the mandate operates, including the yearly targets and the 2030 phase-out definition for new petrol and diesel cars; it closes on 23 October 2026, and any outcome would apply to future scheme years, not the targets already in force. The Climate Change Committee has told government the review must not lead to further concessions, warning that would put the UK's 2030 climate target and its reliance on imported oil at greater risk.

Our reporting tracks the mandate's targets, the review and how manufacturers and fleets are responding, with every figure linked to its source.