Ford, Renault question 2030 electric vehicle deadline

With the Labour Party pledging to bring the 2035 ban on the sale of new ICE vehicles forward to 2030, two major vehicles manufacturers have expressed doubts around going all-electric by the deadline.

Ford had planned to ensure that 100% of its passenger vehicle range in Europe would be EV-capable by 2026, with a complete transition to zero emission models by 2030. It invested £774m in an EV manufacturing plant in Germany to drive the transformation.

However, it now believes that timeline is too ambitious with EV sales actually falling during 2024 after a 35% uptick last year.

Electric vehicles

Discussing the 2030 electric vehicle deadline, Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer of Ford’s Model E electrification division, said:

“I think customers have voted, and they told us that was too ambitious. I would also say reality has a way of making you adjust your plans. We don’t see that going all-electric by 2030 is a good choice for our business or, especially, for our customers.

Net Zero

Meanwhile, Renault is also scaling back its EV ambitions. It has cited falling customer demand for electric vehicles as a key issue in revising plans, but said the ultimate goal of net zero transport must remain.

Luca De Meo said:

“The truth is we are not yet on the right trajectory to achieve 100% electric cars by 2035. We need a little more flexibility in the schedule. However, it would be a serious strategic error to purely and simply abandon the objective because of the current market slowdown.”