Ms Haigh will join Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, for a wider meeting with the auto industry on Wednesday that will also include EV leasing companies such as Octopus and charging providers such as Gridserve.
At that meeting, the Cabinet ministers will be warned that any backtracking risks alienating the massive investment funds that have backed charging companies and are still needed to invest in a plethora of other green projects.
James Alexander, chief executive of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association, said investments in projects such as battery factories were “highly sensitive to the policy environment … and can be easily jeopardised by sudden policy U-turns which move the goal posts”.
He said: “The ZEV mandate currently underpins billions of investment in the UK’s automotive sector. Multiple large pension funds have expressed their serious concern at the prospect of any rollback as investors need certainty, not shifting sands.
“We would urge the Department for Transport to protect investor confidence by holding firm.”
Labour has repeatedly stressed it would bring certainty to the economy, claiming it would not flip-flop on policy as critics said the previous Conservative administration did. Last week Chancellor Rachel Reeves told business leaders at the Mansion House dinner: “By drawing a line under instability business can now plan for the future.”
However, one EV industry source who spoke with ministers on Monday said: “There is a real risk this frightens the horses. It is being seen as a sign that as soon as things get hard, ministers will just backtrack.”
Other big companies to warn ministers against backtracking on the ZEV mandate include energy supplier Ovo, electricity networks giant SSE and BT Openreach, a major buyer of electric vans, the Guardian reported.
Octopus Energy, the country’s biggest electricity supplier, is also understood to have raised the issue with the Treasury and the transport and business departments.
Fiona Howarth, chief executive of Octopus Electric Vehicles, the company’s EV leasing arm, said: “The ZEV mandate is doing what it’s supposed to – providing stability and boosting electric car adoption. Scrapping it would be a huge mistake and stifle progress.”
Ian Johnston, chief executive of Osprey Charging, said: “Any changes to the ZEV mandate would erode confidence in the UK as an investment destination, just as it is poised to become a global EV leader in the wake of the US election.”
Carmakers including Stellantis and Nissan are lobbying the Government – both in private and publicly – to relax the sales rules amid complaints that consumer demand has failed to keep pace with the targets and has left them exposed to huge potential losses.
Manufacturers face fines of £15,000 for every non-compliant car sold above the quota.
