Robert Forrester, Chief Executive of Vertu Motors, said manufacturers were delaying deliveries of cars until next year amid fears they will otherwise breach quotas set for them by the Government.
This means someone ordering a car today at some dealerships will not receive it until February, he said.
At the same time, Mr. Forrester warned manufacturers and dealers were grappling with a glut of more expensive electric vehicles (EVs) that are “not easily finding homes”.
He said: “In some franchises there’s a restriction on supply of petrol cars and hybrid cars, which is actually where the demand is.
“It’s almost as if we can’t supply the cars that people want, but we’ve got plenty of the cars that maybe they don’t want.
“They [manufacturers] are trying to avoid the fines. So they’re constraining the ability for us to supply petrol cars in order to try and keep to the Government targets.”
The Chief Executive blamed the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires at least 22% of cars sold by manufacturers to be electric from this year.
This target will gradually rise each year before reaching 80% in 2030, with manufacturers made to pay £15,000 for every petrol car that exceeds their quota – unless they have so-called carbon credits to spend.
But the scheme has prompted stark warnings from bosses at major brands, such as Vauxhall owner Stellantis and Ford, which have said they cannot sacrifice profits by selling EVs at large discounts indefinitely.
Instead, they have previously warned they may be forced to restrict petrol car supplies to artificially boost their ZEV mandate performance.
The warning from Vertu is the first confirmation that carmakers have now begun doing so….
Mr. Forrester said: “What the Government’s actually doing is constraining the new car market, which has a big impact on VAT receipts for them, and creates a business environment in the U.K. where manufacturers may question whether they want to make cars here.
“As Carlos Tavares [chief executive of Stellantis] has said, why should they sell cars at a loss because of U.K. Government policy?
“The new car market is no longer a market, unfortunately. It’s a state-imposed supply chain.”...<<<Read More>>>...
