# Abolish the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate

> “The Conservatives would abolish the ZEV mandate.”
>
> — Conservative Party; Commons statement (Julia Lopez, for the Conservatives), 9 September 2026

- **Status:** Promised
- **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered
- **Policy area:** [Transport & economy](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/transport-and-economy)
- **Speaker:** [Conservative Party](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/conservatives)
- **Made on:** 9 September 2026
- **Where:** Commons statement (Julia Lopez, for the Conservatives)
- **Cost a year:** No costing published
- **Who it affects:** Car and van manufacturers, which would no longer have to meet the mandate's yearly targets for zero-emission sales; the party also says it would end the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars
- **When:** Not stated; the party says the next Conservative Government would act
- **Paid for by:** Not stated when it was announced
- **Quote source:** https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026-09-09/debates/CAB0EF73-A8DD-4708-AF57-2221AD011A5A/JaguarLandRoverRedundancies (checked word for word on 7 October 2026; Open Parliament Licence v3.0)
- **Last updated:** 7 October 2026
- **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-con-zev-mandate-abolition-2026

## Where it stands

The Conservatives are not in government, so the card stays at Promised; the party's policy pages say the next Conservative Government will completely abolish the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. Filed under economic affairs, not housing and environment, because the mandate regulates car and van makers' sales (transport and manufacturing are economic affairs in the COFOG classification the ledger uses) and the pledge was made in a statement on car-industry job losses.

## Timeline

- 9 September 2026, Promised: Conservative frontbencher Julia Lopez tells the Commons the Conservatives would abolish the ZEV mandate

## About the cost

No costing published for abolishing the mandate itself. In December 2025 the party said that scrapping the non-research and development subsidy programmes linked to the mandate, a separate measure, would save £3.8bn over the next decade; that is a ten-year total, so no yearly figure is shown.

Costing sources:
- [FleetPoint, 15 Dec 2025: Conservatives to rip up electric vehicle rules (reports the party's announcement)](https://www.fleetpoint.org/environment-news/zero-emission-vehicle-mandate/conservatives-to-rip-up-electric-vehicle-rules/)

## Sources

- [Hansard, House of Commons, 9 Sep 2026: Jaguar Land Rover: Redundancies (statement)](https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026-09-09/debates/CAB0EF73-A8DD-4708-AF57-2221AD011A5A/JaguarLandRoverRedundancies)
- [Conservatives: Our new plan for drivers, 24 Apr 2026](https://www.conservatives.com/news/our-new-plan-for-drivers)
- [Conservatives: Our Plan for Britain (policy page)](https://www.conservatives.com/our-plan-for-britain)
- [FleetPoint, 15 Dec 2025: Conservatives to rip up electric vehicle rules (reports the party's announcement)](https://www.fleetpoint.org/environment-news/zero-emission-vehicle-mandate/conservatives-to-rip-up-electric-vehicle-rules/)

## Checks

- Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 7 October 2026; human editor review to come.

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