Labour could renege on its manifesto pledge to restore the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel vehicles, The Sunday Telegraph has claimed.

In October 2023, Rishi Sunak reduced ambitions on a number of green policies, including postponing the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035.

While consumer adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) has been steadily rising over the past decade, a recent flatlining in sales has led to calls from the domestic automotive sector to halve VAT on new EVs amid concerns that the 2030 date won’t be met under current market conditions.

The Sunday Telegraph reports that the government is now considering allowing hybrid vehicles to be sold up until 2035 in a relaxation of its initial pledge to scrap the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines by 2030.

In 2024, EVs only make up around 3% of all cars on UK roads. They are also much more expensive than their petrol and diesel counterparts, although cheaper to run on an annual basis. Last month, the...