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Diesel vans to be sold for at least the next 10 years

Craig Cheetham, contributor
Wed, 23 Apr 2025

Sales of new diesel vans will be allowed to continue to 2035 following a review of the Government's ZEV targets in the wake of new US trade tariffs.

The ZEV Mandate will be changed to make it "easier for industry to upgrade to make electric vehicles” by allowing hybrid cars and internal combustion vans to remain on sale until 2035. The Government says it is "responding to widespread concerns about the challenges of van electrification".

The updated ZEV mandate will maintain the existing electric vehicle targets, though, which in 2025 are 28% ZEV sales for new cars and 16% for new vans.

However, of the 51,539 vans sold in March 2025, only 3897 were electric – a total of 7.6%.

The changes follow the recent consultation with carmakers and the wider industry, but have been accelerated by the US tariffs.

PM Sir Keir Starmer said: "Global trade is being transformed so we must go further and faster in reshaping our economy and our country through our Plan for Change."

Ask HJ

What are the speed limits for my seven-seater electric van?

I have a Vauxhall e-Vivaro seven seat van which is registered as a car but is not car derived. What are the speed limits? According to the police, it’s not car derived and is therefore a van so reduced to van speed limits but the V5 says it’s a car. Please can you clarify?
This is a very grey area and one that is quite often misinterpreted by the authorities, as well as by the vehicle manufacturers themselves. Ultimately, the only failsafe way is to check how the vehicle has been registered with DVLA. You can check via the V5C - look at the "Vehicle type approval." If it's N1, it's subject to van speed limits. If it's M1 it's subject to car speed limits.
Answered by Craig Cheetham
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