Labour splurged more than £4million of taxpayers’ cash on a Net-Zero advertising blitz urging motorists to go electric, it can be revealed.
Ministers launched the ‘Get That Electric Feeling’ campaign in January as part of their bid to hit the Government’s 2030 target for banning new petrol and diesel car sales.
It aimed to raise awareness about £2billion-worth of grants motorists can apply for towards the cost of buying a fully electric vehicle (EV).
Critics say the grants are a waste of money because they will likely go towards wealthier drivers who can already afford to buy an EV, which are as much as £10,000 more expensive than petrol and diesel equivalents.
In response to a parliamentary question this week ministers admitted splashing £4.56million on the advertising campaign, which included the cost of TV, radio and online adverts as well as creative development and agency fees and audience research. It excluded contractors’ fees, meaning the figure is likely higher.
It came as separate industry data obtained by the Mail shows just one in four electric cars are being sold to private buyers.
The figures show just 7,141 of 29,654 (24 per cent) EV sales in January were to private buyers, with businesses buying the rest.
Labour wants more people to buy electric cars so that they can ban sales of new diesel and petrol vehicles from 2030
The Tories’ shadow transport secretary Richard Holden has slammed the £4.5million spent on the advertising blitz
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is understood to have wanted the ban on new petrol and diesel car sales brought forward to 2030 from 2035
This was only marginally higher than 21 per cent of EVs bought by private buyers during the same month last year (2025).
It is a blow to the 2030 target, which Labour brought forward by five years as part of its Net Zero strategy, because convincing more than 30million drivers to make the switch is one of the biggest hurdles it faces.
The Tories’ shadow transport secretary, Richard Holden, who tabled the parliamentary question, said: ‘It’s clear that demand simply isn’t there for the government’s ideological drive to shift everybody to electric by 2030.
‘But because Labour are so obsessed with hitting this made-up target, which has even been abandoned by the EU, they are already spending over £1billion subsiding people to buy electric cars.
‘Today, it’s revealed that on top of this, they are spending millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money advertising electric cars too. Labour should listen to consumers and allow people to choose electric, hybrid, petrol or diesel – whichever suits them – rather than trying to force people down an EV-only path and bribing them with their own money.’
Howard Cox, of the FairFuelUK campaign, said: ‘In poll after poll, the vast majority of drivers remain unconvinced about driving an EV.
‘I call on the Prime Minister to delay – or preferably scrap – the 2030 ban immediately and move it to 2040.
‘This will allow car manufacturers to schedule their fossil fuel production with confidence and fulfil the real demand and wishes of the majority of the electorate.’
More charging stations are cropping up across the country in a bid to make driving an EV more convenient
EVs can take hours to charge if they are not hooked up to a rapid charger, making them less convenient to drive long distances
Under the EV grant scheme, drivers can get up to £3,750 towards the cost of an EV, alongside up to £1,400 on annual fuel and maintenance costs. The grants are awarded for models worth up to £37,000 and are in addition to £3billion-worth of grants being doled out to encourage the role out of ‘greener’ heat pumps to warm homes.
However, for many drivers EVs remain impractical because they can’t access public charging points.
And Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a new pay-per-mile tax on EVs, to start from April 2028, in last year’s Budget which experts say will likely dampen demand.
The previous Tory government originally introduced the 2030 ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles but former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delayed it to 2035.
However, Labour brought it forward to 2030 after winning the July 2024 election following intense lobbying from Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
A transport Department spokesman said: ‘Net Zero emission car sales are up a quarter on the previous year, and switching to electric is easier and cheaper than ever thanks to the Electric Car Grant which has already helped over 70,000 drivers go electric since July.’