UK to stop sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040
london — The UK will ban sales of diesel and petrol cars by 2040 to combat air pollution, becoming the latest European country to embrace that the future in transportation will be electric vehicles.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove will announce a new clean-air plan on Wednesday in a move that comes two weeks after France unveiled its own strategy to become a carbonneutral nation by ending the sale of fossil-fuel powered cars, also by 2040.
“It’s important we all gear up for a significant change which deals not just with the problems to health caused by emissions but the broader problems caused in terms of accelerating climate change,” Gove said on the Today show on BBC Radio 4.
The global shift towards electric vehicles will create upheaval for industry: from oil majors harmed by reduced gasoline demand to spark plug and fuel injection manufacturers whose products aren’t needed by plug-in cars.
In the UK, the decision is partly brought on by stringent EU emission rules that the country must follow even as it is set to leave the bloc.
Car manufacturers are already adapting to the new reality. Volvo, the Swedish automaker, trumpeted the end of the “solely combustion engine-powered car” and said that by 2019 all of its cars will have an electric motor. BMW said on Tuesday it will build an electric version of its iconic Mini compact car in Britain.
The environmental push comes as the UK plans to invest more than £800 million ($1 billion) in driverless and zero-emission technology and outlined plans to invest £246 million in battery technology research. — Bloomberg