RAY MASSEY: It’s time to consult my trusty crystal ball for 2025 car predictions

Each new year brings with it the opportunity to take stock of the past twelve months and look forward to the many opportunities that lie ahead. So here are my predictions…

1) Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will water down elements of the controversial ZEV mandate, which calls for 28 percent of cars sold next year to be fully electric (up from 22 percent this year) – rising to 100 percent by 2035.

If these targets are not met, manufacturers will be fined £15,000 per car sold if they exceed the limit. That suggests that many electric cars are sold at a loss.

The minister announced a ‘fast-track’ review of the controversial targets at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ annual dinner in November – where Vauxhall announced hours earlier it would close its electric van factory in Luton, with more than 1,100 jobs at stake. Nissan’s Sunderland factory also looks shaky.

Humiliated by the sudden news, Reynolds admitted he was “deeply concerned” about how the mandate was working. He told a thousand guests that he heard them “loud and clear.” On Christmas Eve, the government secretly organized a formal consultation (open until February 18) on the ZEV mandate to explore ‘current arrangements and flexibilities’.

So expect leeway for car companies to potentially count electric cars they export, and not just those sold here.

The consultation will also seek views on reinstating the 2030 deadline to stop sales of new petrol and diesel cars. But expect plug-in hybrid cars (and perhaps some hybrids) to be exempt until 2035. However, don’t expect consumer discounts for electric cars. SMMT chief Mike Hawes warned that ‘such incentives are unsustainable – the industry cannot deliver Britain’s world-leading ambitions alone’.

2) Keep an eye on China as it exploits such weaknesses to export large numbers of cheaper electric cars to Britain.

Chinese giant BYD has a range of electrified cars, such as the Dolphin hatchback (from around £26,000), Seal SUV (£46,000) and the Sealion 7 crossover which will land next year from £44,990.

And from February, brace yourself for the GWM Haval Jolion Pro Hybrid – priced between £23,995 and £29,995. Tariffs, such as those already imposed by the US and EU, have so far been rejected in Britain, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer facing down Chinese leaders.

3) Then there’s Jaguar.

Or should that be ‘jaGuar’ after the rebrand caused a global meltdown? Nevertheless, I wish the company the best of luck.

The electric ‘JaGuar’ GT concept car looks bold and exciting and, despite the ‘woke’ marketing debacle, has grown on me – although the ‘copy of nothing’ claim is far-fetched. But we’ll have to wait until later next year to see production models, and until 2026 to see them on sale.

4) I also predict that the war on the country’s hard-pressed motorists will continue unabated – with more fundraising cameras to enforce 20mph zones and other speed limits, parking zones and bus lanes.

Whatever the future may bring: a happy new year to everyone.