A HUGELY iconic maker of sports cars is fearing for its future and desperately seeking answers from the government.
Morgan Motors is among a small group of low-volume manufacturers that could be heavily impacted by the UK’s mandated electrification timeline.
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Currently, manufacturers that sell fewer than 2,500 cars annually in the UK are exempt from the zero emission vehicle, or ZEV, mandate, which requires mainstream firms to hit an 80% EV mix by 2030.
This means the likes of Morgan, as well as Caterham, Ginetta and Lister, won’t have to develop and rush through the creation of an all-electric motor within the next few years.
However, it remains unclear whether these smaller brands will also be spared from the 2030 ban on new pure internal combustion engine sales.
What’s more, the rules state that hybrids with a “meaningful” electric range can remain on sale until 2035, when all new cars in the UK must be fully electric.
In recent weeks, the head of Lister, who, like Morgan, only builds and sells a small number of cars each year, said they might be forced to put all of their future plans on hold.
The same fears are setting in for Morgan, which only makes around 850 cars each year, with a waiting list of six months for orders.
The firm’s managing director, Matthew Hole, recently bemoaned “a lot of ambiguity” around what smaller manufacturers can sell.
Speaking to Autocar, he said the company is past the stage where it needed clarity on whether Morgan will be allowed any exemptions.
He added: “To get a car in production for 2030 as an EV, we need two-and-a-half to three years, based on where we are today, so we’ve got a little bit of time left.
“But the clock is ticking pretty fast at the moment – and for manufacturers like us, that’s a hard deadline.
“We have to plan our investment. I can’t really find out on 1 January 2027; I’m planning my investment to 2030 now.”
Indeed, the timeframe for such a creation is what’s causing Morgan’s decision-makers the most trouble.
Hole said: “If we need an EV in 2030 or we need an EV in 2035, they are two very different things, and they significantly change how we do our product planning going forward.
“Our customers are telling us that they would like to keep buying internal combustion engines, and the legislation isn’t clear today on when we will be required to move to EVs in all markets.
“We have other markets around the world, and they are internal combustion-engined, and our cars are incredibly clean.
“It’s an incredibly clean engine and transmission package, the cars are really lightweight, they’re low-emission, they’re actually really sustainable by design.”
However, Morgan, which in 2025 is celebrating its 115th anniversary, is determined to fight on for its future and avoid halting the sale of its cars in the UK.
“That’s an outcome I would never want,” said Hole.
“Because this is our home market: it’s the country we all live in, we all love and where we build our cars.
“Morgan would survive. However, that’s not something we want to do. That would be a very last resort.”
He added that Morgan is expanding globally, with its US entry allowing the firm to sell 325 cars annually – about half its output.
What’s more, unlike the UK, Hole described EU regulations as “relatively stable.”
Morgan is in discussions with the government alongside other niche manufacturers, with Hole optimistic that exemptions will be granted.
Despite ICE demand, Morgan is developing an EV, but Hole insisted it must align with the brand’s lightweight, dynamic ethos.
He added: “It can’t be a big car and a heavy car.”
That means they’re currently collaborating with an unnamed manufacturer for the creation of a bespoke EV platform.
In 2023, they also revealed the XP-1, an electric version of the Super 3, as a testbed, although its future EVs are expected to use entirely new architecture.
Among petrolheads, Morgan is renowned for blending classic design and traditional craftsmanship – ensuring each car is unique – with modern technology, all while maintaining its distinctively British style.
Morgan’s current range of models consists of the Super 3, Plus Four and Plus Six.
Last year, it was suggested Morgan is set to do away with the Plus Six, letting it bow out with a limited edition “Pinnacle” version.
Clocking in at just under £97,000 each, only 30 are expected to be produced.
Morgan’s most famous recent model is perhaps the bizarre-looking Aero 8, that was discontinued in 2018.
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