Stellantis and Ford remain bullish about their electrified future despite the UK Government’s threat of £15,000 per car fines for OEMs who breach its proposed electric vehicle (EV) sales mandate.

Stellantis UK boss Paul Willcox vowed that the automotive manufacturing giant would transition to a 100% zero-emissions model range by 2030 as Ford of Britain chair Tim Slatter said that yesterday’s launch of consultation over the mandate would give the sector “confidence” about its future direction.

However, Auto Trader commercial director Ian Plummer highlighted the gap to compliance faced by many brands to meet the terms of the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel car sales.

And despite loopholes which allow cross-brand trading of EV sales credits and borrow from future years’ projected allowances, he suggested OEMs would be cognisant of the stringent fines set to be levied for OEMs who fall short of the mark.

Plummer said: “The Government has had to accept practical realities today with its watered-down proposals on the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate. Our data shows that only eight out of 50 brands had EV sales leads of more than 22% in the first two months of 2023, so allowing manufacturers to borrow from future years’ allowances to hit the 22% target in 2024 is common sense.