ELECTRIC DREAMS

As Government commit to moving on from petrol and diesel, we look at alternative-fuelled cars

THE news had petrolheads spluttering like the exhaust on a Trabant.

But even the most ardent fossil fuel fan should have realised their cars were on a one-way street to the scrapyard.

The announcement this week that no petrol and diesel cars will be sold from 2040 has been inevitable since the VW emissions scandal.

Yesterday, Tesla launched their new 3, billed as the affordable Tesla.

Earlier this month, Volvo said from 2019 they would only be producing cars with an electric engine – either all electric or petrol or diesel hybrid.

We are being pushed towards electricity and away from fossil fuels. A decade ago, it would have seemed unbelievable – but these are the cars our grandchildren will be driving. While our motoring roots are grounded in the internal combustion engine theirs won’t be.

Hybrids – cars with an electric engine paired with a petrol or a diesel engine – are becoming some of the fastest sellers on the market, albeit they still make up a very small part of it.

All that is set to change as motorists are pushed towards hybrids and all-electrics by governments making them much more attractive through taxation.

It costs about £3 to charge an electric car overnight although a car like a Tesla may be more. There should be lower service charges because there are fewer parts and no fuel to pay for. Zero emissions attract zero road tax, although a car like the Tesla which costs more than £40,000 will be liable for a £310 a month “wealth” tax for five years

Cars such as this featured on these pages attract a government grant of 35 per cent of the purchase price up to a maximum of £4500.

The car industry is already prepared for this and almost every manufacturer has hybrid vehicles on their fleet now and many all-electric models.

The issues of range and charging infrastructure by 2040 will be insignificant.

We will have been driving hybrids so long the move to all-electric will seem natural.

The charge is on to electric. WHILE Volvo stole the headlines with their announcement about electric engines, Hyundai slipped in quietly under the radar last year with their Ioniq range.

The alternatively fuelled cars ensure that no traditional internal combustion engine is in sight.

I drove the all-electric and the hybrid and the former was a revelation – it was silent, smooth, agile and powerful, with a range of 174 miles. Hyundai and their sister brand, Kia, are committed now to alternatively fuelled cars and Hyundai reckon they will have 28 different models in their range by 2020.