From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
By Paul Homewood
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-path-to-zero-emission-vehicles-by-2035
The Government’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate specifically refers to motor manufacturers – though there seems to be some ambiguity between “sold” and “produced”.
However there is no information provided as to how non-UK manufacturers will treated, and how foreign companies could be forced to meet the mandate under UK law. I there FOId the DfT, and they sent me this response:
So, as I suspected, there is no way the Government can actually enforce its mandate with non-UK manufacturers.
Suppose BMW missed its target by 50,000 cars. At £15000 per car, that’s a penalty of £750 million – which they clearly are not going to pay, no matter how much the Government huffs and puffs.
And if the Government attempted to restrict market access, I suspect there would be an almighty row with the EU. It is one I also suspect the Government would lose in the European courts.
This is particularly relevant given that German manufacturers are hoping to continue focussing on ICEs, now that the EU has an exemption for “zero carbon fuels”.
But also note this section:
It would be easy for European manufacturers to bypass the mandate, simply by pre-registering cars for 3 months before exporting them. By doing so, they would easily undercut domestic manufacturers, who would have to include the cost of the mandate in the price of their ICEs.
It seems naive in the extreme for the Government to just assume that BMW, Renault and all the rest would willingly cave in to UK demands. But that just about sums up the whole lunacy of Net Zero.
Maybe legal beagles out there might check my logic and see if I’ve missed anything.