Nissan warned it could face difficulties meeting the ZEV mandate requirements in the UK from the Labour Party government.
The Labour Party government has “listened” to car industry concerns and agreed to “change” electric vehicle targets. Nissan warned it could face difficulties meeting the ZEV mandate requirements in the UK from the Labour Party government.
Last week Labour Party Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed “a substantial change of policy” to the ZEV mandate following concerns from the Japanese carmaker. Mr Reynolds told The Times the Government would “do everything we can to make sure Nissan has that secure long-term future in the UK”.
“The whole Government is absolutely of the view that you will not get to the progress around net zero and the energy transition that we want to see by closing down British jobs and British industry,” Reynolds said.
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He added that the Government remains “committed to being ambitious on the environment and climate” while being “totally committed to vehicles being made in the UK.” Reynolds, who attended school in Sunderland, expressed pride that former schoolmates work at the Nissan factory.
“Nissan has consistently supported the aims of the UK’s ZEV Mandate and have been working with Governments and partners towards a fully electric future since the first Nissan LEAF arrived in 2010,” said Guillaume Cartier, Chairperson for the Nissan Africa, Middle East, India, Europe and Oceania (AMIEO) region.
“The Mandate risks undermining the business case for manufacturing cars in the UK, and the viability of thousands of jobs and billions of pounds in investment. We now need to see urgent action from the Government by the end of the year to avoid a potentially irreversible impact on the UK automotive sector.”
As the Government’s Industrial Strategy recognises, UK automotive manufacturing is an essential growth-driving sector. It employs hundreds of thousands of people across the country, and represents 12% of UK exports.
Cartier added: “We are committed to working with Government and industry partners on a long-term solution, but action is needed urgently to ensure we protect UK car manufacturing and ensure we can all realise and support the transition to zero emissions and carbon neutrality.”
