Car manufacturers on both sides of the Channel are urging the EU and UK to strike an immediate agreement to delay damaging Brexit trade tariffs on electric vehicles until 2027.

The plea, echoed by the EU auto sector, is to delay the implementation of tougher new Rules of Origin (ROO) requirements on batteries which could render EU and UK made electrified vehicles uncompetitive in each other’s markets.

It said: “As the clock ticks down to the 1 January 2024 ROO introduction, new calculations lay bare the impact the new rules, set under the EU-UK Brexit deal, would have on vehicle affordability and competitiveness. Electrified vehicles that do not meet the new thresholds will be subject to a 10% tariff when traded across the Channel, resulting in a combined cost of £4.3 billion.1 For the consumer, this could mean an average price hike of £3,400 on EU-manufactured battery electric vehicles (BEVs) bought by British buyers, and a £3,600 rise on UK-made BEVs sold in Europe.”

It noted that even against a backdrop of the pandemic, crippling semiconductor shortages and trade tensions, EU-UK electrified vehicle trade had more than doubled recently, enabled by the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), growing 104% in the three years since the TCA was signed, up from £7.4 billion at the end of 2020 to £15.3 billion last year, accelerating in the last 12 months.

The situation has helped total UK automotive global trade in finished vehicles and components get back on track following the pandemic, and it is currently on course to be worth more than £100 billion by the end of 2023, according to the latest SMMT report, Open Roads – Driving Britain’s global automotive trade, published today.