BMW, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, and parts manufacturer Bosch sent a joint letter to UK ministers in April calling for an "open technology approach" that would permit sales of new petrol and diesel cars beyond the government's 2035 zero-emission deadline. The letter, obtained by The Fast Charge newsletter via freedom of information request and shared with the Guardian, is the first documented evidence of a coordinated industry push to reverse what the Climate Change Committee calls the single biggest contributor to cutting UK carbon pollution in the next decade. The companies requested that "highly efficient ICE, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, range extenders and combustion engines when utilising green steel and sustainable fuels" remain legal after 2035. Every technology on that list burns fuel and produces CO₂. The letter also proposed aligning with the EU, which weakened its own targets in December to enforce 90% rather than 100% electric car sales post-2035. The companies sought meetings with ministers for Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland — a clear strategy to build cross-government support for diluting the mandate. The lobbying leverage is blunt: 30,000 UK jobs. BMW operates Mini in Oxford and Rolls-Royce in West Sussex. Nissan runs the country's largest car factory in Sunderland. Ford has plants in Dagenham and Merseyside. This employment footprint gives the manufacturers direct access to ministers who would bear the political cost of factory closures. The Department for Transport said the 2035 ban is "not up for negotiation" and pointed to a 35% year-on-year increase in EV sales plus a £2bn electric car grant. But that statement sits awkwardly alongside the record. Labour has already introduced "flexibilities" into EV targets running to 2030. The government is now considering further changes to the ZEV mandate after sustained carmaker pressure. A 2027 mandate review is already committed — giving incumbents a formal window to push again. The "technology neutral" framing deserves scrutiny. The carmakers proposed offsetting continued ICE emissions with lower-carbon steel and e-fuels — synthetic petrol made using green electricity. Experts say e-fuels are not viable at scale because of massive energy wastage. This makes the offset argument a fig leaf: it sounds reasonable in a letter but cannot deliver the emissions reductions the policy was designed to achieve. Polestar's UK managing director Matt Galvin called the reversal proposal "a historic policy failure," noting that the technology exists and the economic case strengthens annually. Colin Walker of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit warned that resisting the transition risks UK factories being outcompeted by Chinese EV manufacturers. The irony is precise: the carmakers' lobbying to protect existing production lines may accelerate the very obsolescence they fear. Each of the five companies issued carefully hedged statements affirming commitment to decarbonisation while calling for targets matched to "customer demand." BMW cited concerns that ZEV mandate requirements "do not reflect current levels of consumer demand." Toyota said the government should "remain open-minded" and described carbon as "the enemy" while pursuing a "multi-pathway strategy." Nissan asked for a "more gradual transition." Ford declined to comment. The pattern is consistent: agree with the destination, fight the timeline, and hope the destination moves.
