Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate

Luke Akehurst Excerpts

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Heidi Alexander]

The hon. Member will be aware that the Cabinet Office leads on the EU reset negotiations, so she might most appropriately put that question to my colleagues in the Cabinet Office. On her wider question about support for the EV supply chain, we have announced the automotive transformation fund to a value of £2 billion, part of which is specifically for supporting the EV supply chain.

[Luke Akehurst (North Durham) (Lab)]

Many of my North Durham constituents proudly work at Nissan in the constituency of my neighbour my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson). Nissan Sunderland’s 6,000 staff make excellent cars, including hybrid and electric vehicles. My right hon. Friend deserves credit for putting together at pace a package that has been welcomed by industry, but she is right to suggest that this is only one piece of the puzzle. What more will she and Ministers be doing to support the sector in the coming months?

[Heidi Alexander]

We will continue to roll out the electric charging infrastructure, which is really important to give consumers confidence. The time to switch to EVs is now. We will continue to have the plug-in vehicle grants for individuals who are thinking about purchasing a new van. We will also continue to keep under review what else can be done to stimulate demand and make sure we maintain the momentum that we are seeing in the market in the first few months of this year.