When Ford announced this week that it was cutting 800 jobs in the UK, the US carmaker also had stern words for the government. It has joined in a chorus of criticism of rules that force car companies to sell more electric vehicles each year. The rules, known as the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, are simply “unworkable”, Ford said.
Someone should have told Ford back in 2022, when the carmaker strongly backed the policy. In fact, it went further, calling for the British government to force carmakers to sell even more electric cars each year.
“Ford believes that figures lower than Department for Transport’s current proposed trajectory will not send a strong enough signal to customers, manufacturers and investors to spur the appropriate transition,” it said at the time. “Furthermore, any lowering of targets will send the wrong signal in terms of charging infrastructure rollout.”
The carmaker did argue that the policy should be subject to review if industry conditions change, according to the government consultation response obtained by the Fast Charge newsletter. But…
