New Petrol, Diesel And Hybrid Vans To Still Be Available Until 2035
New vans equipped with an internal combustion engine fuelled by petroleum or diesel can continue to be sold in the UK until 20235 as the government announced a significant amendment to its ZEV Mandate (Zero Emissions Vehicle).
Up until now, a ban on newly registered petrol, diesel and hybrid vans was due to be introduced in 2030 as part of the Labour government’s pledge to lower national CO2 emissions levels.
However, it was a broad-stroke policy focused predominantly on the passenger car industry, of which electric models hold a much larger share of the overall market compared with the commercial sector.
Since then, however, the government has reviewed the response to a consultation it launched in late 2024 to refine its mandate targets.
Under the existing rule, 70% of new vans sold in the UK would need to be zero emission by 2030, increasing to 100% by 2035.
However, though latest SMMT sales figures for March show electric vans sales increased 40% year-on-year, BEVs contributed to only 8% of overall van sales in the UK, putting it well adrift of necessary targets.
It is this slow progress that has prompted the government to clarify the position of new vans sales in the UK for the first time, extracting it from the targets set out for the car industry into its own indicators.
“No additional technology requirements will be imposed on vans. This means that petrol, diesel, HEV and PHEV vans will all be permitted until 2035.
“As now, van manufacturers will just need to make sure that in the period from 2030 until 2035 the overall CO2 emissions of their non-ZEV fleet get no worse than they were in 2021.”