Petrol and diesel vehicles sales ban to be brought forward

New petrol and diesel vehicles sales ban in the UK to be brought forward to 2035

The last date to buy a new petrol or diesel vehicle in the UK will be brought forward from 2040 to 2035 under the latest government plans – and this will include hybrid cars. The prime minister even says that the government will bring an end to the sale of new petrol and diesel cars even earlier than 2035 if possible.

The proposals were originally announced in July 2017; the latest plans also include stopping the sales of hybrid cars. The change, which will be subject to a consultation, is being planned because experts warned the previous target date of 2040 would still leave old conventional cars on the roads after the ‘net zero’ date of 2050.

Mike Potter, CEO of DriveElectric, comments on the announcement:

“We are pleased to see further commitment to encouraging electric cars from the UK government. Making the switch to electric vehicles is easier than people think and we believe the market would go electric naturally in this time frame – and possibly by 2030 – as electric cars are so great to drive, cheap to maintain and the fuel cost is 80% lower. And of course to kick-start this change we have the added incentive of 0% Benefit in Kid (BIK) company car tax for pure EVs from April 2020 – so the figures really do stack up in favour of EVs.

“The UK is also leading in many areas of technology relating to electric cars, including vehicle to grid charging (V2G), which has the potential to turn EVs into a solution to help with electricity grid capacity issues.”

Today, PM @BorisJohnson launches the UN Climate Summit @Cop26, setting out the UK’s position as a world leader in tackling climate change. #COP26 #YoCA2020 pic.twitter.com/u6pt2tIZ9J

— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) February 4, 2020

We're pleased to see Govt taking action to end sale of new petrol/diesel vehicles by 2035 or earlier. Transport is the largest emitting sector of the economy, and this clarity is welcome.

We're gathering more evidence on the phase-out as part of our Sixth Carbon Budget work. pic.twitter.com/WY1LTi4oqT

— CCC (@theCCCuk) February 4, 2020

Header photo by Ryan Searle