Rules on electric vehicle (EV) sales could change under a “fast-track” government consultation, according to the BBC.
Carmakers with factories in the UK have urged the government to change the rules, which they say set sales targets too high because demand for electric vehicles is not strong enough.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is expected to announce the change at the annual dinner of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders later on Tuesday.
Under the current mandate, a percentage of cars sold by companies must be considered zero-emission.
Electric vehicles are expected to account for 22% of a company's car sales and 10% of its van sales this year. For every car sale that pushes it outside this mandate, they must pay a fine of £15,000.
There are flexibilities in the system, allowing manufacturers who cannot meet targets to purchase “credits” from those who can.
In practice, this means buying credits from companies like Tesla or the Chinese company BYD, which exclusively build electric models.
Manufacturers say demand for electric cars hasn't been as high as expected when the rules were developed.
As a result, to avoid fines, they say they must sharply reduce the prices of new vehicles or subsidize their competitors who only build electric cars, none of whom have a manufacturing base in the UK.
At a meeting last week with Reynolds and Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, carmakers called for more flexibility to be built into the regulations.
Nissan, which makes electric vehicles at its Sunderland factory, said the rules “undermine the profitability of car manufacturing in the UK, as well as the viability of thousands of jobs and billions of pounds of investment “.
Last week, rival Ford announced it would cut 800 jobs in the UK over the next three years. He explained that this was partly due to weaker demand for electric vehicles.
The BBC understands that while the Government remains committed to meeting Labor's program target of ending sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, it is prepared to consider changing that mandate.
A number of options have been suggested, including adding flexibility by allowing sales credits to be transferred between cars and vans, providing credits for UK-made electric vehicles sold overseas , or new incentives to encourage private buyers to choose electric vehicles.
In its manifesto, Labor insisted it would bring forward the target date for ending sales of new petrol and diesel cars to 2030. It is understood that this objective is still considered non-negotiable.
However, the government is prepared to consider changing the mandate – provided the industry can reach broad agreement on the nature of these changes.
Haigh said earlier this month the government would study “flexibilities” but insisted “the mandate will not be weakened”.
