The car giant behind Vauxhall has threatened to mothball its UK factories amid a row over net zero targets for electric vehicle (EV) sales.

Stellantis warned on Tuesday that it would be forced to close plants at Ellesmere Port and Luton, where it makes vans, unless the Government relaxed rules forcing manufacturers to sell a certain proportion of EVs. 

It has also threatened to reduce the number of petrol and diesel cars it sells in the UK.

The warning dramatically escalates a dispute with the Government over the so-called zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires car makers to sell rising proportions of electric cars annually. 

From this year, at least 22pc of cars they sell must be electric and the figure rises gradually to 80pc by 2030. In 2035 the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will then be banned.

However, Maria Grazia Davino, UK managing director for Stellantis, said the rules were out of step with consumer demand and risked making sales unprofitable.

‘Hostile market’

Speaking at a car industry conference, she told journalists the mandate would have a big impact and “damages the UK”.

Ms Davino added: “We have undertaken big investments in Ellesmere Port and in Luton, with more to come.

“But if this market becomes hostile to us, we will enter an evaluation for producing elsewhere.”

Asked how long Stellantis would wait for a decision from the Government, she said: “Less than a year.”

Her warning comes after Carlos Tavares, the chief executive of Stellantis, also said that the car maker would be forced to cut back on sales of petrol cars in the UK to meet the ZEV mandate. 

Stellantis is calling for the electric vans it makes in the UK to count towards its quota and for the Government to introduce more financial incentives to boost take up of EVs, which remain too expensive for many consumers. 

Ms Davino said: “It means that you have to increase discounts to push the market that isn’t there.

“And this has a number of consequences for the business case.”

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