Q&A

Q AHow much will it cost? Policy Exchange’s report suggests a phase-out of grants by the early 2020s, so much of the cost will be on building the infrastructure to support charging and grid management.

Car companies will have to change production to electric vehicles and the Government will potentially lose billions of pounds a year in fuel duty and other taxes on conventional cars, prompting calls to consider road charging as an alternative. How ambitious is the Government being with its 2040 target? With costs falling rapidly, electric vehicles could be the default option for new cars at some point in the 2020s, and the Committee on Climate Change has said 60 per cent of new cars and vans must be electric by 2030 to meet carbon targets cost-effectively.

France has already outlined its plans for a ban by 2040, and India has outlined ambitions for all new cars to be electric by 2030.

A recent report from US think tank Rethinkx envisages a future in which as early as 2030 self-driving electric vehicles will dominate roads.

Q A