Consumers could see an end to “heavy” discounts on electric vehicles (EVs) as ministers look to water down net-zero targets, according to car industry experts.
Under current laws, 80 per cent of all new cars sold in the UK must be electric by 2030 under the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, rising from 33 per cent from 2026.
It is understood that ministers are set to launch a consultation in the coming days on loosening these rules, with numbers ranging from 50 per cent to 70 per cent under consideration.
Putin has a sinister new plan. We should all be worried
The last month has seen the fiercest exchange of missile attacks between Russia and Ukraine in more than four years of war.
But the fighting is in dynamic impasse, with a huge amount of killing and damage on either side with little to show for it. Russia now looks to be trying to shake that up.
What has changed?
In the past week, Vladimir Putin has urged new field commanders to get the job done to seize the whole of Donetsk by the end of the year.
Lithuania warned a few days ago intelligence services thought Russia could try to provoke allies in the region in the next few weeks. This points to a dangerous new phase of the war.
The sinister new plan
Russia is using three lines of attack to break the will of Ukraine: to bring misery, a lack of power and utilities with the onset of winter and to grind down the forces on the front line.
The new military appointments and exhortations suggest Putin intends to intensify ground attacks in Ukraine.
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What does this mean for Ukraine?
- The numbers look bleak for Ukraine going into the winter.
- The trashing of its cities, including the targeting of filling stations, aims at depriving Ukrainians of heat and comfort, and even adequate food.
- Ukraine is fighting back hard, but the next phase of the war could stretch it to breaking point.
Why you shouldn’t use your 1999 solar eclipse glasses
With a rare partial solar eclipse later today, many are casting their minds back to the last major eclipse over the UK before the turn of the century.
But experts have warned people not to re-use glasses bought for the astronomical event 27 years ago.
What you need to know
Many parts of the country will experience more than 90 per cent coverage of the Sun.
Depending on your location, it will occur between 6.15pm and 8pm. People in the south-west of England are likely to get the most coverage. For the best view, it is a good idea to head to high ground.
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When will this happen again?
There has been a last-minute rush for eclipse glasses, as many high street shops and online retailers have sold out.
The next total solar eclipse over the UK will not happen until 2090.
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Put the old glasses away
- Only specialist glasses that are ISO 12312-1 certified should be used, experts said.
- People should only use glasses that are undamaged and no more than a decade old.
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How solo working is driving rising hours spent alone
Working from home and other solitary working habits are a bigger driver of loneliness than screen time, research suggests.
What you need to know
- The Resolution Foundation made the findings by analysing UK Time Use Survey.
- It found the average number of people doing paid work alone has nearly tripled in under a decade.
- Working from home accounted for roughly two-thirds of the rise in work done alone.
- The research found that “paid work is the biggest driver of rising time alone among working-age people”.
- Parth Pandya, researcher at the Resolution Foundation, said: “If policy makers are serious about improving young people’s wellbeing, then work needs to be part of the debate as much as screen time.”
The story in numbers
15%
Among 18 to 69-year-olds, the average proportion of people who were doing paid work alone in the standard working day increased from five per cent in 2014 up to 15 per cent in 2023.
90 minutes
The biggest change was among men aged 18-29, who spent an additional 90 minutes working alone each day.
This means they spend more than two-fifths of the hours they are awake alone.
What does this mean?
The research said: “It is more solo working, rather than screen time, that has driven the rise in reported time alone.
“Despite likely under-reporting of screen time, time alone for young people is still up. So, something else must be driving it – and the diary data points to a sharp rise in solo working.”
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Timeline of recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure
Ukraine has maintained near-daily attacks on Russian oil refineries, pumping stations and exports – targeting the lifeblood of Moscow’s war economy.
By some estimates, the campaign has knocked out a third of Russia’s oil processing capacity.
What you need to know
On 18 July, Kyiv ushered in a new era, targeting Wildberries warehouses – Russia’s equivalent to Amazon and one of the country’s largest companies.
For many Russians, the war now feels a lot closer to home, with social media filled with videos of explosions and business owners crying over their destroyed stock.
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The timeline of key events
Kyiv has raised the stakes in recent weeks with dozens of attacks. The logic is to aggravate economic problems and harm public support for the war.
- 30 April – Ukraine said it hit one of Russia’s largest oil refineries more than 1,500 kilometres from the front line.
- 24 June – A strike on an electricity substation took out the power in the Russian-occupied city of Sevastopol.
- 4 July – Ukraine hit a major oil terminal in St Petersburg.
- 2 August – Kyiv said it hit an oil refinery and airfield 600 kilometres from the border in Saratov region.
- 3 August – A drone hit a Wildberries warehouse in one of a series of similar attacks on the company.
- 6 August – Ukraine hit two oil refineries, trying to reduce the profits of Russian oil.
When and where to catch a glimpse of Perseid meteor shower
Just hours after the partial solar eclipse, Wednesday night will see stargazers treated to yet another astronomical event.
But what is the Perseid meteor shower and where can you see it best?
Everything you need to know
The Perseids are seen as streaks of bright meteors across the night sky. They are caused by debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet and are seen in the UK every summer.
Its peak nights are 12 and 13 August this year. Much of the UK will have clear skies overnight, with a new moon meaning the display should also be more visible.
Where best to see it
- Try to go somewhere without light pollution, preferably away from cities.
- Allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness and gaze up towards the widest clear expanse of sky.
- You could see hundreds of “shooting stars”, with the best time between midnight and sunrise.
- Areas of the Highlands, mid-Wales and rural Northumberland are often cited as having the least light pollution.
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Why billionaire Lord Sugar has hit out at American Express
Lord Alan Sugar has called American Express “a bunch of idiots” after he was denied an increase on his credit limit.
star, 79, who has a reported net worth of £1.138bn, said he spoke to someone who was aware of his “financial status”, but it made no difference.
What is the row about?
Lord Sugar wrote on X to complain he had been on the phone with American Express for an hour, and eventually “my request was refused due to their system”.
Replying to some criticism in his comments, the entrepreneur responded: “I AM NOT MOANING JUST EXPOSING WHAT A BUNCH OF IDIOTS AMEX ARE.”
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Council flat to billionaire status
Some in Lord Sugar’s comments accused him of “trying to flaunt your status” after championing his modest background.
- Lord Sugar was born in Hackney, east London, in 1947 and grew up in a council flat.
- He left school at 16 and briefly worked in the civil service as a statistician.
- He founded electronics company Amstrad at the age of 21 and found commercial success by mass-producing affordable consumer electronics.
- Sugar began hosting reality competition show in 2005.
- He sold his stake in Amstrad to BSkyB in 2007 for £125m.
- His net worth is reportedly £1.138bn.
Are you having as much sex as everyone else?
It’s natural for libido to wax and wane due to life events, dating status or hormonal changes.
And it can be hard to say what a “normal” sexual frequency is. But research and case studies give us a rough idea.
The statistics
When it happens
61%
A 2023 survey concluded that almost two thirds (61 per cent) of us wait until night-time to have sex.
Only 14 per cent opt to get busy in the early evening, and 10 per cent in the morning.
Research from 2019 suggests that the average number of times British live-in or married couples have sex per month is three.
Are Gen Z having less sex than older people?
I see my partner on the weekends and have sex with others in the week.
Leanne, a 27-year-old influencer from Bristol has sex three or four times a week, but only sees her long-distance partner on the weekends. They have agreed they can both sleep with other people during the week.
35-year-old Rebecca usually sleeps with her partner once or twice per week due to not having much child-free time.
Clare, 32, says her job is busy and she has to schedule sex with her partner on weekends, or some afternoons twice a month. “Occasionally this slips and I do worry that it makes us not as connected,” she says.
I haven’t had the issue of my sex life drying up with menopause. I’m more aroused now.
I’ve been married for 15 years. I love my husband, but our sex life is non-existent, and has been for about five years.
I’m not really motivated to seek out partners; I vaguely like the idea of it but not enough to take any action.
I’ve been married for 20 years and sex has become something of a rarity. We maybe have sex once a week on a Sunday morning as we’re both relaxed and I can take Viagra late on Saturday night – without it, I can’t perform.
JACK, 63, OFFICE WORKER, KENT
The seven rules that could save your marriage
Keep your sense of self
I did what I thought I was supposed to do and forgot my needs and wants. I think it’s really important that you’re an individual and not just a person who is married.
KATIE STRATFORD*, A 55-YEAR-OLD MUM OF TWO, WHO DIVORCED ATER 19 YEARS
Seven rules to save your marriage
The small things
Small things, like being brought a cup of tea or saying thank you, make a big difference.
Karen Deulofeu, who ended her six-year marriage, believes all couples should seek support, even before they think they need it.
Listen properly by repeating what you have heard and ask if you’ve got that right.
Don’t lose communication
People don’t talk about the deep issues; nobody else is going to do it for you. You don’t want to ask questions because it might rock the boat…you have to keep talking, and talk about what it is that you want within the relationship to keep going forward.
KATIE STRATFORD
Seven rules to save your marriage
Remember that things change
“What you see on social media and what friends say is quite often the nice version. Everything is a phase,” says Deulofeu.
Look at yourself first
“Focus on what’s in your control and what you can do differently, rather than the other person or a situation that you can’t control. Invest in understanding yourself,” she adds.
The European Commission has already modified its plans to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035, shifting the requirement for a 100 per cent ban on internal combustion engines to a 90 per cent zero-emissions target.
Good deals on electric cars
The Department for Transport (DfT) said it is “committed” to phasing out new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 but said it would “review the mandate to support British industry and investment”, with further details to be published in due course.
It comes after intense lobbying from car manufacturers who argue the mandate is too strict and leads to huge, last-minute discounts on EVs as they attempt to hit their quotas to avoid fines of £12,000 for every non-compliant vehicle sold.
Automotive industry experts have warned that watering down current net-zero rules is likely to reduce “particularly aggressive EV discounts” – but they added that ongoing market competition will ensure customers still get good deals on electric cars.
Steve Huntingford, the editor of consumer title What Car?, said rowing back on net-zero rules around EVs could “lead to manufacturers being under less pressure to sell them, and therefore there’s no need to sell them at such a heavy discount”.
But he said car makers will “still be in competition with other manufacturers”, meaning it is unlikely that EV discounts will “disappear altogether”.
Huntingford noted that while purchase prices would be likely to increase, “whole-life ownership costs for consumers might not”.
Since the most popular type of car finance – personal contract purchase – is based on the depreciation of a car’s value, balancing EV supply and demand would “strengthen resale value” and keep down monthly repayments, he added.
The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) said a relaxation of the ZEV mandate could lead manufacturers to “reduce some of the incentives currently being used to encourage sales”, but added that it could create a “healthier market” in the long term.
“The priority should be making EVs genuinely attractive and affordable to consumers, supported by the right incentives and infrastructure, rather than relying on regulation to drive demand,” CEO Sue Robinson said.
Steve Walker, head of digital content at weekly car magazine , said watering down ZEV mandate targets would lessen the need for manufacturers to offer “particularly aggressive EV discounts”.
But he said “fierce competition” means deals will continue, with incentives likely to be spread more evenly across petrol, hybrid and electric cars as manufacturers have more freedom.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the UK’s primary trade body for the automotive industry, recently told that the current net-zero rules are “haemorrhaging billions in EV discounts”.
‘Our world is literally on fire’
But the EV sector has responded by claiming these concerns are overblown, with Autotrader sales data from June stating that petrol discounts reached 11.7 per cent, overtaking electric for the first time. The July publication states that average discounts on car sales were 10.3 per cent, with electric and petrol models averaging a higher 11.3 per cent.
“The latest market data contradicts the suggestion that discounting is simply being caused by the ZEV mandate. All vehicles are discounted. It’s a competitive market,” said Tanya Sinclair, CEO of Electric Vehicles UK.
She suggested that changing current EV sales targets could “create an unstable, uncertain market” which could deter consumers from buying an electric vehicle.
Gurjeet Grewal, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles, said that “the ZEV mandate is working” by encouraging manufacturers to invest in electric cars and giving consumers the confidence to make the switch.
“EVs are increasingly the best-value cars on the road and sales continue to grow at a remarkable pace,” he said. “The last thing we need is another policy wobble that confuses consumers and puts investors off just as the transition is accelerating.”
Dominic Phinn, head of transport at Climate Group, warned that tweaking the ZEV mandate could “undermine any agenda for growth and economic competitiveness, and sabotage one of the cheapest, most effective climate protection tools we have at a time when our world is, literally, on fire”.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “It’s never been easier or cheaper to own an EV. The ZEV Mandate is backed by £7.5bn to grow the market, boost EV manufacturing, increase sales and build up the UK charging network.
“EV sales have surged almost 45 per cent compared with July last year, and we’ve helped over 160,000 drivers to buy through our Electric Car Grant, boosting sales whilst putting money back in people’s pockets.”