Government mandates on how many electric models manufacturers produce has been called a ‘chaotic fiasco’ by a senior executive at Honda Europe, according to national newspaper reports.

The Times reports that Patrick Keating, European government affairs at Honda Motor Europe, wrote on his LinkedIn that the delays to details about the government’s net-zero electric vehicle strategy could cause problems.

The government scheme was part of Boris Johnson’s pledges as prime minister and expected to be a key stepping stone in the plan to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars in 2030.

According to the Times, he wrote: ‘The delays risk the ZEV mandate roll-out becoming a chaotic fiasco.’

He added that the ‘political inertia’ was ‘very frustrating’ as new rules are planned to come into force next year but details have still not been announced.

However, a Honda spokesperson told the Times: ‘Honda is fully supportive of the government’s transport decarbonisation agenda.’

It is not currently known why the details for the mandate have stalled.

However, the Department of Transport commented: ‘We’re working closely with industry on the path to all new cars being zero-emission by 2035, and a final consultation on the mandate will be published shortly.’

Matt Finch, UK policy manager at the campaign group Transport & Environment, told the Times that ‘the ZEV mandate could and should be a world-leading piece of legislation’ but commented that ‘the policy’s constant delays suggest that it, and therefore the climate crisis, just isn’t a priority for the Sunak administration’.

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