The UK’s decision to soften its EV mandate represents a significant victory for champions of a slower, hybrid-inclusive transition, a position most prominently held by Toyota. The world’s largest carmaker has long argued for the continued role of vehicles that combine petrol engines with batteries.
While many rivals were going “all-in” on fully electric vehicles, Toyota maintained a more cautious strategy, refining its successful hybrid technology. The UK’s original, aggressive ZEV mandate, which heavily favoured pure EVs, posed a direct threat to this business model.
In its lobbying, Toyota leveraged this position, arguing the all-electric push was too fast and that its technology offered a practical, intermediate step for consumers. Its warnings of “hundreds of millions of pounds” in fines under the original rules underscored the financial jeopardy it faced.
The government’s decision to allow hybrid sales until 2035 and to introduce flexibilities into the mandate aligns much more closely with Toyota’s strategic vision. While the company sees this as a pragmatic approach, environmentalists view it as a compromise that unnecessarily prolongs the fossil fuel era.