SMMT Electrified 2026 and autonomous technology developments

0:00What are the big talking points at SMMT Electrified? Which carmaker has announced a big strategic update? And who has been collaborating on Autonomous Technology? This is the Automotive Update, presented by Autovista24. Hello and welcome to the Automotive Update. I'm Tom Gegas, the editor of Autovista24, here with the biggest headlines from the last seven days. Now last week we had Autovista24 journalist Tom Hooker, here with us from the Commercial Fleet Summit in Brussels. And this week we have another on-location report. So please welcome Phil Curry, Autovista24 special content editor from SMMT Electrified. Hi Tom, it's great to be joining you from the QE2 conference centre in London. So what are some of the big trends you've seen emerged so far today?

1:00What a big discussion point has been around the Zero Mission Vehicle or ZEV mandate. The overriding understanding of the SMMT is that there needs to be an urgent review based on the fact that the electric vehicle market in the UK is not growing as much as it could have. Now Mike Hors, chief executive of SMMT pointed out that when the mandate was first discussed and indeed on his implementation in 2024, the world was a very different place. However, since then demand has not kept up with supply and that has led to the market struggling to meet the mandate. Now the Department for Transport has said that the mandate is a success, but Hors also stated that actually compliance is compulsory because if you don't comply with the ZEV mandate, you're going to face fines. One of the key points he made was around discounting.

2:02He highlighted that in the two years since the ZEV mandate has been in force, manufacturers have spent of average around £10 billion in discounting on electric vehicles. That equates to an average of £11,000 per vehicle. Now he also highlighted that the fine for non-compliance is £12,000 per vehicle, so realistically it's cheaper to discount than it is to get the fine, but still the financial implication is not that sustainable. What have manufacturers been saying about the zero-emission vehicle mandate there, Phil? For Uric Juice, Senior Vice President and Group MD as the land is UK, pointed out that car makers aren't really able to profit from making an electric vehicle, they're currently in a lost making scenario, but they're forced to continue down this path through the zero-emission mandate. There's no return on that. This leads to a problem with investment.

3:04Uric also stated that there needs to be a review into the ZEV mandate and this needs to happen now. If it doesn't, it could impact investment going forwards. Patrick McGillicuddy, MD at JLR UK, also talked about investment, saying that their plans are into the next decade, but the industry needs clarity when it comes to the zero-emission vehicle mandate. He also highlighted the EVED, the pay per mile charge for electric vehicles that is coming in 2028, right at the time when the zero-emission vehicle mandate target is expected to jump further, and said that this is confusing customers. It also comes at a critical time and therefore the industry needs clarity into what is actually going on. Lisa Branking, MD at Ford, also pointed out that car makers are facing challenges in beating the target. She highlighted that despite the fact that Ford's registration in 2025 grew by around 20%,

4:07only 24% of their fleet was an EVED, a zero-emission vehicle, and this was well below the 28% required last year. With that number increasing to 33%, it could be challenging for car makers to meet that going forward. What does the government said about the zero-emission vehicle mandate? Well, Keir Maffer MP, Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation in the Department of Transport, was present at the event today, and he highlighted that the government is conducting a review into the ZF mandate, and this has always been the case, with the results being known in 2027. When pressed to see whether this review could be conducted sooner, he's insisted that the process would begin later in 2026, but the ultimate review will be published in 2027 against what the SMMT and it seems car makers in the industry are calling for.

5:08Now Phil will be covering SMMT electrified on Autovista24 to make sure you're signed up for our email, that where you'll get all of our content sent directly to your inbox. Just sign up via the form at the bottom of our homepage, and why not check out our YouTube channel as well. They'll find our what is, explain the videos, launch reports, insights and webinar recordings. Our next live webinar will take place on the 1st of April, and it's called Europe's Autovolcast 2026, I'll make sure there is a registration link in the show notes. And of course, subscribe to the Autovista24 podcast, wherever you listen to us. This week Renault Group announced Future Ready, a new strategic plan. The company will launch 36 new models between now and 2030. This can be broken down into 22 models in Europe, 16 of which will be electric and 14 models on international markets.

6:10Its Renault brand will aim to sell more than 2 million vehicles by 2030, with half of this volume being delivered outside of Europe. It aims to carry out 12 new model launches in the region, and this means continuing to build in the A and B segments, as well as releasing a new wave of vehicles in the C and D segments, which currently accounts for some 30% of its sales. By 2030, the brand wants 100% of its European sales to be electrified, and 50% to be electrified outside of Europe. Meanwhile, international markets will see the launch of 14 new Renault brand models between now and 2030. The carmaker reports the sale of 620,000 vehicles outside of Europe in 2025, and that's up 11% compared to 2024. To keep building on these results, it's going to lean on its hubs in Morocco, Turkey, Latin America, South Korea and India. Across European and international markets, the company is going to extend its full hybrid eTech offering past 2030.

7:12It's going to use its RG EV medium 2.0 platform to power a new generation of electric vehicles. Now the technology is going to be offered in three different configurations. First, fully electric with a range of up to 750 kilometres WLTP. Second, a 4x4 electric with a turn capacity of up to two tons, and third, electric with a range extender, increasing the total range to 1,400 kilometres. Renault will also introduce a new generation of fully electric vans on an 800 volt architecture defined by software. Elsewhere within the group, datcher plans to electrify two thirds of its sales by 2030. From this point, the brand will look to increase the number of electric vehicles in its range from 1 to 4. Meanwhile, Alpine will launch the next generation of its A110 as well as building on the A290 and A390. Antoine Provost, CEO of Renault Group, said, Future Ready, our new strategic plan, is a crucial step in the future of Renault Group.

8:14In an environment that is even more competitive, we can build on solid fundamentals, our brands, our products, and our financial results. This week has seen multiple autonomous technology collaborations announced, with one company helping to drive development. Wave. The UK Self-Driving Company is set to work on robot taxes with Uber and Nissan. The trio hope to launch a pilot in Tokyo in late 2026. This will look to integrate Wave's AI or autonomous driving system into Nissan's base vehicle, or connected to Uber's ride hailing platform. Elsewhere, Wave's going to work with Qualcomm. The output will be a pre-integrated advanced driver assistance and autonomous driving system for car makers. This will mean to port for entry-level hands-off driving assistance up to eyes-off automated driving. A big thank you to Autovista 24 Special Content Editor Phil Curry, preparing in this podcast

9:20and to Web Editor James Roberts for co-producing. Additional thanks go to journalist Tom Hooker. The music was better find a solution fast by Richard Ames. Thank you for listening. Welcome to the Autovista 24 Podcast.