UK – “SMMT Electrified” – a conference organised by the official trade organisation for Britain’s motor industry, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders – was launched in 2022 and has been held yearly since then. The 2025 edition, held on 13 March at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster, is the first that Truck & Bus Builder has attended since the event began. According to SMMT’s own post-show review, “more than 400 senior representatives from industry, government, and the infrastructure, energy, fleets, insurance and logistics sectors” were in attendance to discuss “the transition to zero emission mobility”. Certainly, the conference drew a large and diverse crowd of people, but while the auditorium spilled over with attendees, the speeches and panel discussions were light on substance. Lilian Greenwood, Member of Parliament and undersecretary to the transport secretary, did not explain how the Starmer government would provide certainty to the industry in its transition to electric, other than a bland assertion that the 2030 and 2035 bans on combustion-engine cars and vans, which have already been moved twice, were “iron-clad” targets that the current government would stick to.

Greenwood was asked whether she would support a tax break on electric vehicle purchases, which she deflected with the claim that the decision was out of her hands. The topic of incentives for electric cars recurred time and again during the conference; indeed, the SMMT has published a short document (titled “In it together”¹) recommending that the value-added tax on new zero emission vehicle purchases be halved for three years. The paper argues that such incentives could increase battery electric car sales by 15% by the end of 2027. Attendees went away from the conference, however, with no indication that the government will take any action to boost sluggish EV sales.