The Road to Zero: Understanding the UK’s EV transition

By Gilbarco Veeder-Root

Despite some headline-grabbing changes, the UK is still on track to phase out new petrol and diesel cars and vans within a decade. Here’s what you need to know.

The UK is Europe’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market, taking almost a fifth of the region’s 2.0 million registrations in 2024 according to industry body ACEA [1], and momentum is growing.

Cars and vans produce 20% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions [2], which means EVs are an important step towards the government’s 2050 net zero target and there’s a clear pathway towards that goal. This article highlights the milestones in that process.

When will petrol and diesel cars be banned in the UK?

From 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emission at the tailpipe. That target was set out by former prime minister Boris Johnson in 2020, setting deadline to phase out sales of new petrol, diesel and hybrid models, and it hasn’t changed since it was announced [3].

Although older fuel-burning vehicles can still be used or sold after that date, only 18% of cars and vans are more than 15 years old [4]. This means most vehicles with a tailpipe will have been scrapped before the UK reaches its 2050 net zero deadline.

In the meantime, manufacturers are required to sell a progressively larger share of zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) each year – a term that includes battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell technology. Mandatory targets were introduced in 2024, at 22% of cars and 10% of vans and with large fines for those that don’t meet them. By 2030, 80% new cars and 70% of vans to be ZEVs [5].

Non-ZEVs haven’t been overlooked. They’re subject to separate CO2 targets and, from 2030, new cars must be at least full hybrids (such as the Nissan Qashqai e-Power or Toyota Corolla) to be sold in the UK [6]. That requirement was restored by the Labour government, having been removed under Rishi Sunak in 2023 [7], but it doesn’t include vans. Despite how the announcement was worded, there has never been a policy banning hybrids after 2030.

How is the UK government supporting EVs?

Although the most generous incentives have been wound down or removed, there are several policies encouraging households and businesses to switch. These include:

UK government EV support infographic

The Plug-in Van Grant, which provides up to 35% towards the cost of a plug-in hybrid or electric van, capped based on the size of the vehicle. Eligible vans must have an electric range of 60 miles, and CO2 emissions of 50g/km or less [8].
Tax breaks including low-rate vehicle excise duty (VED) and company car tax to 2030. The latter has been a powerful incentive – half of new business contract hire orders were electric in Q4 2024, according to the BVRLA [9].
Simplifying charger installations at homes, workplaces and public locations by removing the need to get planning permission if the unit is in an off-street parking bay [10, 11]. The government hopes this will cut costs, and help meet its targeted 300,000 public chargers by 2030 [12].
Investing £600m in public charging between 2025 and 2030 [13, 14], focused on local authorities and expanding the network of rapid chargers [15]. Although the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund is only available to Tier 1 authorities, charge point operators (CPOs) can bid for contracts from recipients [16].

Meanwhile, the case for going electric is continuing to improve. Battery costs were 84% lower in 2024 than they were in 2014, according to Bloomberg NEF [17], which offering more range at a lower price, and there’s more choice too. The SMMT claims there are 135 different electric cars on sale in the UK as of May 2025, compared to 106 a year before [18].

What do those rules mean for plug-in hybrids?

There is some flexibility in the ZEV mandate. Manufacturers earn credits for beating their CO2 targets, and count some of that excess as if it was additional ZEVs. Although 19.6% of new cars and 6.3% of vans were electric in 2024, according to the SMMT [19, 20], transferring credits from non-ZEVs raised those shares to 24.3% and 9.3% [21].

Those CO2 credits are in place until 2029, and effectively incentivise plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) as a way to reduce non-ZEVs’ average emissions. The UK also isn’t adopting the EU’s new efficiency test for PHEVs, which assumes a lower share of driving on battery power, until 2028. Manufacturers can continue to use the outgoing system or convert CO2 figures for newly-tested cars to match it – which means UK market cars will have lower emissions than the same model sold elsewhere in the EU [21].

How will the UK’s CO2 targets affect fuel retailers?

Electrification is here to stay, supported by long-term incentives and a growing choice of increasingly affordable vehicles in the UK and across the EU – which has the same 2035 deadline in place [22].

That new cohort of EV drivers will expect charging to be as simple and convenient as filling with fuel. Forecourts are well placed to offer that experience, with prime locations and desirable facilities for drivers, and the potential to attract drivers with longer dwell times – creating new opportunities for on-site retail and food facilities.

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