According to government sources, Boris Johnson is set to announce that the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned by 2030, bringing forward the current deadline by five years.
The Prime Minister is set to make the announcement as part of a broader package of green initiatives aimed at boosting the emerging electric vehicle (EV) market and delivering the UK’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050. However, sources suggest that hybrids will be permitted to be sold until 2035, the current cut off year as per existing policy.
Pure and plug-in hybrid EVs already account for 9% of all new cars sold in the UK (2020 YTD) with October hitting a recent high of over 12%. Despite the Covid pandemic affecting car sales overall, the EV market continues to go from strength to strength, with trends suggesting that the market share could double next year to 20%.
Dr Ben Lane, co-founder of Zap-Map commented: “This will be great news for the emerging electric car sector which continues to impress with several key models launched this year including the VW ID.3 and the Vauxhall Corsa-e, and many more due in 2021.
“While many car companies have yet to ramp up their EV production plans, a 2030 target date will focus minds and bring more investment into the EV industry which will benefit the next generation of UK drivers as well as the environment.”
The electric vehicle market is being driven by a number of factors including an increasing number of affordable models, tax breaks, and purchase subsidies worth more than £400m which are guaranteed until 2022/23. The UK Govt is also looking to build world-leading UK EV expertise and manufacturing post-Brexit.
£500m has also been earmarked to fund new charging point infrastructure across the UK with support focused on installing latest high-powered units at all motorway service areas in England. These devices, which are rated at 150-350 kW, are able to fully charge the latest EVs in under 20 minutes.
The announcement, which comes ahead of next year’s UN COP26 international climate summit in Glasgow, will form part of a package of technologies designed to deliver a low-carbon economy and include the increased use of offshore wind for electricity generation, carbon capture systems, hydrogen energy storage, and new micro-scale modular nuclear reactors.
