The United Kingdom government has revised its zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate to include an exemption for “small and micro-volume” manufacturers from ZEV targets, reported Autocar.

This definition of small volume applies to any company producing less than 2,500 cars a year, and the UK government cited Aston Martin and McLaren as specific examples of companies which will be granted the exemption, according to the report.

This move is aimed at helping “some of the UK car industry’s most iconic jewels for years to come,” the UK government said. At present, neither Aston Martin nor McLaren sell a fully electric model, and the former has stated its first EV will emerge by 2030.

The revised ZEV ruling will give these manufacturers – including Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Lotus and LEVC – more time to transition from ICE-powered cars to EV alternatives, and the exemption will also apply to ultra-low-volume sports car makers including Morgan, Caterham, Ariel, BAC and Gordon Murray Automotive, according to Autocar.

The main targets of the UK’s ZEV mandate remain unchanged, which is to have manufacturers achieve a 28% EV mix this year and 80% by 2030, though its government has made Non-Zero Emission Car CO2 Trading Scheme (CCTS) more flexible. This scheme allows carmakers to offset sales of non-electric cars by exceeding their CO2 reduction targets, earning them a lower mandated target of EV sales mix in a given year, the publication wrote.

One key change to the CCTS is that carmakers can now benefit from the credit transferring system through to 2029, whereas previously this only allowed them to spend the credits in the three years up to 2026. This allows them “significant additional flexibility to reward CO2 savings from hybrids” over the next five years, the UK government said.

Meanwhile, the mechanism of “borrowing” EV sales credits from future years that has been set to end next year, will now be allowed through to 2030, Autocar wrote. In the UK, carmakers are presently allowed to ‘borrow’ up to half of their mandated 28% EV sales this year, and that will be reduced to a quarter next year.

Lastly, manufacturers will be able to trade credits between cars and vans in the UK. In this mechanism, one credit for selling one electric car can be exchanged for 0.4 in van credit, and one electric van credit can be exchanged for two cars.