Imagine having gas-powered vehicles rationed in order to push consumers to buy electric ones.

Car makers are rationing sales of petrol and hybrid vehicles in Britain to avoid hefty net zero fines, according to one of the country’s biggest dealership chains.

Robert Forrester, chief executive of Vertu Motors, said manufacturers were delaying deliveries of cars until next year amid fears they will otherwise breach quotas set for them by the Government.

This means someone ordering a car today at some dealerships will not receive it until February, he said.

At the same time, Mr Forrester warned manufacturers and dealers were grappling with a glut of more expensive electric vehicles (EVs) that are “not easily finding homes”.

Forrester attributed the issue to the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires that, starting this year, at least 22 percent of all vehicles sold in the UK be electric. This percentage will rise annually, reaching 80 percent by 2030. He correctly points out that such a policy twists the automobile market into nothing more than a supply chain that will be a disincentive to manufacture vehicles in Great Britain.

However, despite Rowan Atkinson being blamed for the glut, slow electric vehicle sales are not limited to the United Kingdom.

Recent figures from March indicate a sharp decline in sales across Europe as demand for electric vehicles (EVs) faltered, despite the European Union’s push to ban petrol and diesel cars by the mid-2030s.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) says sales of battery-powered vehicles fell by 11.3 percent, with Germany, Europe’s largest economy, experiencing a 28.9 percent drop in demand.

Electric vehicles made up only 13 percent of new registrations, down from 13.9 percent in March of the previous year and 14.6 percent for all of 2023, reflecting a continuing long-term decline in consumer interest.

Conveniently enough, the demand for vehicles is on the petroleum and hybrid side of the automobile market. But it’s not like the British government would want to play favorites, right?