The Conservative Party government is poised to U-turn on electric vehicle pledges – with plans to scrap a 2030 car ban . The Conservative Party have suggested removing the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate as part of reforms to net zero plans. Kemi Badenoch, head of the party, described the net zero 2050 target as “impossible” to achieve within the next 25 years, without a serious drop in our living standards or “by bankrupting us”. Andrew Griffith, the Shadow Business Secretary, warned against the danger of “state intervention”. Speaking at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders conference, the Shadow Secretary said the Conservatives did not want to be a knee-jerk opposition, but added the automotive industry still had a “long, long way to go”. READ MORE Future of major UK high street chain with 281 shops in doubt He explained: “That means that we must again allow for real consumer choice in the automotive sector, rather than diktats.” Griffith argued that “sustainable industries are built upon real demand from real consumers, and that state intervention is a poor substitute for this”. Johann Beckford, senior policy adviser at Green Alliance, said: “If reports that senior Conservatives want to scrap the Zero Emissions Vehicle mandate are true, this plan would jeopardise up to 拢22billion of investment in batteries and electric cars, and good jobs up and down the country.” Beckford noted it “was a proud moment for the Conservative Party when Rishi Sunak put them in place”. Colin Walker, head of transport for the campaign group Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: 鈥淭he increase in vehicle emissions could be considerable. “As well as driving the uptake of more polluting and expensive PHEVs, the government鈥檚 changes risk distracting the UK鈥檚 car industry from making the shift to building EVs, leaving it stuck building obsolete hybrids while the world moves to EVs 鈥 a recipe for factory closures and mass redundancies.鈥 However, the CCC said the government changes were 鈥減ragmatic鈥 and 鈥渕inor鈥 relative to the trend of increasing EV sales, to the chagrin of some in the industry. A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: 鈥淥ur recent changes strike a practical balance 鈥 giving manufacturers flexibility to sell plug-in hybrids until 2035, while sticking to our commitment to the 2030 phase-out of new petrol and diesel cars.鈥 The changes 鈥渨ill have a minimal impact on emissions鈥, it added, and would protect jobs.