1 week Ago By Steve Hanley
This week, the UK government reacted to the latest round of tariff insanity in the United States by altering its plans to promote the adoption of electric vehicles. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his country is reinstating its proposed ban on the sale of new cars powered solely by internal combustion engines as of 2030, but that regulations regarding the manufacturing targets for electric cars and vans will also be changed. To help companies navigate the transition, sales of conventional hybrid vehicles will be permitted for an additional five years.
UK transportation minister Heidi Alexander told the BBC the US tariff plan announced last week is “bad news for the global economy because it’s bad for global demand, it’s bad for prices and it’s bad for consumers. The changes we are making have been very carefully calibrated so as not to have a big impact upon the carbon emissions savings that are baked into this policy. In fact, the impact on carbon emissions as a result of these changes is negligible.
” The new measures will allow luxury supercar companies such as Aston Martin and McLaren to keep producing gasoline-powered cars after 2030 because they manufacture only a small number of vehicles each year. Aston Martin sold just over 6000 cars in 2024 while McLaren sold just 1270 of its ultra-rare road cars. New hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars can continue to be sold until 2035.
Gasoline- and diesel-powered vans will also continue to be allowed to be sold until 2035 as well. The Green party MP Siân Berry told The Guardian ,“The government is wrong to apply the brakes on the sale of EV cars. This is just the latest in a series of boosts the Labour government has given fossil fuel industries.
We’ve also seen the green light being given to airport expansion and a new road tunnel under the Thames. This suggests Labour is weakening its climate commitments, and its health related policy goals because all these moves will have a detrimental impact on air quality. Slowing down the move away from fossil-fuelled transport makes no economic sense either, since green sectors of the economy are growing three times faster than the overall UK economy.
” Colin Walker, the head of transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said, “In weakening the mandate elsewhere by extending flexibilities and allowing the sale of standard hybrids between 2030 and 2035, the government risks reducing the competition it has stimulated between manufacturers, meaning prices for families seeking an EV might not fall as fast, and sales could slow. The growth of the secondhand EV market, where most of us buy our cars, would in turn be stunted, leaving millions of families stuck in petrol and hybrid cars paying a petrol premium of hundreds, and even thousands, of pounds a year.” Alexander defended the government’s action and said it had “struck the right balance” between protecting British businesses and cutting carbon emissions.
To those who believe keeping the 2030 target for the phase out of conventional cars would hobble the domestic auto industry at a time when it is struggling, she said, “It is an opportunity for the car industry to remain at the cutting edge of the transition to EVs, but it’s right that we’re pragmatic. It’s right that we are looking at how we can be flexible in the way in which car manufacturers make this transition, because we want cheaper EVs to be available for consumers. We want people to be able to benefit from those lower running costs as well.
And so it’s important that, as a government, we do everything that we can, not only to support British businesses and manufacturing to grow the economy, but also to cut those carbon emissions, and I think we have struck the right balance in the package that we’re announcing today.” Asked by BBC Radio 4 whether Prime Minister Starmer was prepared to use the relationship he has built with the alleged US president to suggest he change course on his tariff fiasco, she said: “Obviously when the prime minister has discussions internationally with allies, he will be honest about what is in the best interests of the British people.” Spoken like a true politician.
She added that the imposition of those tariffs last week by the US meant the UK government had to look at its EV plans with “renewed urgency.” There is a general feeling in parts of the US that the EV revolution is over and Americans will just continue driving internal combustion ground pounders forever and a day. What is happening in the UK puts the boots to that myth.
In the first quarter of 2025, BYD sold more cars in the UK — 9,271 — than it did in all of 2024 — 8787. In a press release , the company said the two versions of the BYD Seal — one a plug-in hybrid and the other battery-electric — had a breakout quarter. The plug-in hybrid car outsold every other PHEV in the UK in the first quarter while the battery-electric version of the car was the seventh best selling EV.
Steve Beattie, the director of sales and marketing for BYD UK said, “I am incredibly proud of our latest achievement in the UK. Thanks to the tireless work of our team and retailer partners, we have smashed yet another sales record. At BYD our mission is to bring high tech and high value cars to our customers, and it’s great to see this resonating with UK buyers.
With the addition of Sealion 7, we are confident that more people will continue to choose BYD.” The all new BYD Sealion 7 only went on sale in the UK in March, but has already proven popular with customers. Based on BYD’s e-platform 3.
0 and utilizing the brand’s innovative Blade Battery, the Sealion 7 combines sporty performance, stylish SUV design, cutting edge technology with a beautifully finished and spacious cabin. With an all-electric range of up to 312 miles, the Sealion 7 extends the influence of BYD in the UK new car market. It is true that BYD’s market share is pretty small right now — in March it was just 1.
8% of the new car market — but it only began selling its passenger cars in the UK two years ago. All things considered, BYD is pretty pleased with how well things are going in the British Isles. It has more than 2,500 electric buses in operation in major cities across the country and has installed 1.
8 GWh of battery energy storage for the national grid in the UK. Pretty soon, vehicles manufactured by BYD will be available in every new car market in the world — except for the United States. Whether that makes the US a winner or a loser depends entirely on your point of view.
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