On 14 August 2026 the Department for Transport reopened the question the UK motor industry has now been asked three times in four years: when, exactly, does the new petrol and diesel car stop being legal to sell? Responses close on 23 October 2026. Here is what is genuinely on the table, what is already settled, and what it changes for anyone buying or importing a car in the meantime.
The short version
- A new DfT review of the ZEV mandate opened on 14 August 2026, with responses due by 23 October 2026.
- The 2030 end of sale for new pure petrol and diesel cars, and 2035 for all new cars and vans to be zero emission, both remain government policy.
- The 2026 ZEV target is 33% of a manufacturer’s new car sales, rising to 80% in 2030.
- Self-charging hybrids keep a reprieve to 2035 under the 2025 relaxation.
- None of this applies to used or imported cars. Buying, selling and registering a used ICE car remains legal after 2030.
What was announced
The Department for Transport launched a consultation asking manufacturers, suppliers, charge point operators, dealers, consumers and communities for their views on the pathway to ending sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, and on ensuring all new cars and vans are zero emission by 2035.
The framing matters. This is a review of the pathway — the trajectory, the flexibilities, the support — not a proposal to abolish the destination. But a live consultation is by definition an open question, and the industry has learned since 2023 that UK end-of-sale dates are movable.
The timetable
14 August 2026
Review launched
DfT opens the consultation on the pathway to zero emission driving by 2035.23 October 2026
Responses close
The deadline for submissions from industry, dealers and the public.2026
33% ZEV target in force
A third of each manufacturer’s new car sales must be zero emission this year, with flexibilities and borrowing available to those that miss.1 January 2030
New pure petrol and diesel cars end
No new car powered solely by petrol or diesel may be sold. The ZEV target reaches 80%.2035
100% zero emission
All new cars and vans must be zero emission. The hybrid reprieve granted in 2025 expires here.
The targets as they stand
33%
ZEV target, 2026
80%
ZEV target, 2030
100%
ZEV target, 2035
The mandate operates on manufacturers, not on buyers. Each maker must ensure a rising share of its new UK car sales are zero emission, with credit-trading, borrowing between years and other flexibilities available to those falling short.
Why this shows up in the showroom
Because compliance is measured annually, manufacturers who are behind target discount electric cars hard in the closing months of a compliance year, and quietly restrict the supply of the petrol cars that would worsen their ratio. If you are buying a new EV in the UK, the fourth quarter is structurally the cheapest time to do it — and that has nothing to do with the car and everything to do with the maker’s spreadsheet.
The hybrid reprieve
The government relaxed the treatment of hybrids in 2025. Self-charging hybrids — the Toyota Prius, the Nissan Qashqai e-Power and similar — may remain on sale until 2035, five years past the pure-ICE cutoff.
For the import trade this is the single most useful detail in the whole policy, because it defines what the UK new-car fleet will look like in the late 2030s, and therefore what the UK used market will be exporting. A country that keeps selling hybrids to 2035 produces a large, young, well-maintained hybrid parc for the decade after.
The £7.5bn behind it
| Allocation | Amount | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| DRIVE35 projects | £4 billion | EV manufacturing and supply chain investment |
| Grants and charging | £3.5 billion | Van, truck and car grants, the Electric Car Grant, and charging infrastructure |
| Total | £7.5 billion | Committed support for the ZEV transition |
Figures as set out in government announcements accompanying the transition programme.
The deadline has moved twice. The money has only gone up.
What it means if you are buying or importing
If you are buying new in the UK
Nothing changes this year. The 33% target is already in force and is already shaping discounting. If anything, a live consultation makes manufacturers more rather than less willing to move metal, because certainty about 2030 is what would let them slow down.
If you are importing a used car from the UK
- The mandate does not touch you. It applies to new vehicle sales by manufacturers. Used petrol and diesel cars can be bought, sold, exported and registered after 2030 exactly as now.
- Supply is the real effect. Every year of a rising ZEV target means fewer new ICE cars entering the UK fleet, so the pool of three-to-five-year-old petrol and diesel cars worth importing shrinks and ages from 2030 onwards.
- Hybrids are the hedge. With hybrid sales running to 2035, the UK will keep producing exportable hybrid stock long after the pure-ICE tap closes.
- Destination rules still govern. What you pay on arrival is set by the country you register in, not by UK policy — VRT in Ireland’s case, on Revenue’s OMSP.
If you are a dealer planning stock
The planning horizon that matters is 2029–2031, when the last pre-ban new ICE registrations wash through into the used market. Cars registered in the final months before a ban have historically carried a small but durable premium, and there is no reason to expect 2030 to be different.
Sourcing from the UK?
We buy from UK auctions and trade sources every week and handle export documentation, shipping and destination registration. The UK import guide covers the process end to end, and the cost calculator gives you the landed figure before you bid.
Sources
- Review launched to shape pathway to reach zero emission driving by 2035 — Department for Transport
- Phasing out sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and supporting the ZEV transition — government response — GOV.UK
- ZEV mandate: 33% of new cars must be electric this year — What Car?
- UK ZEV mandate: what it means for the automotive industry on the road to 2030 — Cox Automotive