UK BRINGS FORWARD BAN ON SALE OF COMBUSTION-ENGINED CARS

Detailed in a surprise announcement from the UK government, a ban on the sale of vehicles powered by fossil fuels has been brought forward across Britain by ten years, marking a highly ambitious target date of 2030 for the change to take place. The shift toward electric vehicles is one of many clean energy policies Boris Johnson’s Conservative administration is advancing in an attempt to stimulate economic recovery after the damaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands have already set 2030 as their deadline for the same legislation, while Norway is introducing the ban five years earlier. France has stuck with its plan to make the change in 2040. The UK’S position is intended to ensure the country becomes carbon neutral by 2050.

Labour had already made a pre-election call for a ban on the sale of combustion-driven vehicles by 2030, but many industry experts have called into question just how realistic the target is. Chat about the National Grid’s ability to cope with the suggested boom in electric vehicle usage has been the main talking point, though establishing the required charging infrastructure for every home — no matter the location, no matter the building — and the ability to ensure a super-high number of charging points is available countrywide has also given rise to understandable concern. Moreover, the pressure is now on OEMS to accelerate their electrification programmes. Porsche has made huge inroads with the game-changing Taycan, but with much of the world unable to get hold of good quality fuel, let alone electric charging infrastructure, it remains to be seen when each manufacturer is likely to be making a full switch to battery power.

Johnson’s plans allow fleet and commercial buyers to continue ordering vehicles with hybrid powertrains until 2035. “Clean air is an absolute priority, but it won’t happen through aimless virtue signalling by politicians,” commented motoring journalist and Fairfueluk campaigner, Quentin Willson, in response to the news. “Government and local councils need to apply evidence-based science to the sources and causes of pollution to clean up our urban air. The UK is woefully underprepared for vehicle electrification, is broadly ignoring marine, aviation, industrial and domestic combustion and needs to incentivise consumers and industry to change behaviour. The country needs a consistent and well-crafted national air quality strategy that’s supported by world-class scientific research,” he added.

Johnson’s statement failed to address concerns regarding the environmental impact of producing an all-electric vehicle, which some sources claim to be fourteen times worse than building a hybrid, largely due to the huge environmental footprint of creating a fully electric vehicle and its required batteries. We’ll bring you more on this story as it develops during the months ahead.