Nissan warns jobs at risk as UK EV targets push auto industry to ‘crisis point’

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Nissan plans to warn ministers that the UK car industry has reached “crisis point”, with jobs and competitiveness at risk unless the government relaxes electric vehicle regulations, according to two people with direct knowledge of internal discussions.

Electric vehicles are created 18% of new car sales in the UK in the first 10 months of the year, below the 22% required under the government’s quota scheme.

Manufacturers can close the gap by purchasing credits from electric vehicle makers like Tesla. Next year, however, the EV minimum will increase to 28%, a level that automakers warn is too high to justify the credits at a time of weak consumer demand, making They face a fine of £15,000 per vehicle.

“The reality is that customers are not moving at the speed we expected,” said a person close to Nissan. “Failure to do something within a few months will impact the industry to the point where jobs and economic growth are at risk.”

The comments come ahead of a meeting on Wednesday between transport secretary Louise Haigh and the motoring and charging industry to discuss the UK’s transition to electric vehicles.

If the discussions do not yield concrete results, Nissan plans to escalate the matter by appealing to Sir Keir Starmer, highlighting rising tensions between the industry and the department for transport.

Other automakers have privately complained that they cannot hold in-person meetings with transportation officials. One said the Department for Transport had “turned a blind eye” to the issue and ministers and civil servants dismissed industry concerns.

The DfT said the government was working closely with Nissan and had met with the company twice in the past two weeks to discuss zero-emissions vehicle regulation.

“Manufacturers already have flexibility in place and we continue to support the transition to electric vehicles,” the spokesperson said. “We have also announced a budget of more than £300 million to support the transition and a further £2 billion to support car manufacturing in the UK.”

Nissan is one of the largest car employers in the UK with more than 6,000 workers at its Sunderland plant, which supports another 30,000 jobs across the supply chain and where the company has invested £6 billion.

However, the manufacturer has come under heavy pressure globally from slowing electric vehicle sales growth, an outdated product line and falling demand in China, causing emergency measures involving 9,000 job cuts.

A person close to Nissan said the company was “scared” by Chinese competition – a threat the Japanese group will struggle to deal with if it faces target-cost development. Emissions are even higher in the UK and EU.

The UK’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) regulations stipulate that all new cars sold must be fully electric by 2035. But in the meantime, budgetPrime Minister Rachel Reeves confirmed the government’s intention to introduce a ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars until 2030, although a small number of hybrid vehicle sales will be allowed until 2035.

Growth in electric vehicle sales has slowed in other markets in Europe, leading to discussions about whether to exempt carmakers from fines if they fail to comply with EU emissions regulations. or not.

The UK market has performed better, with new electric vehicle sales up 25% in October from a year earlier, accounting for almost 21% of total car sales.

However, industry officials say retail demand remains weak and annual targets will become much harder to achieve from next year, when the 28% rule is introduced.

However, automakers remain divided on how the government should relax the target, with some calling for a pause on the ZEV mandate while others prefer smaller fines and more subsidies to push push consumer demand.

Environmental groups say the electric vehicle targets should be maintained because automakers can still meet them by buying credits. Companies were also recognized for significantly reducing their own overall carbon emissions.