Cars Sold In The UK By 2040 Will Need An Electric Range Of 50 Miles Or More

Last summer, the UK government caused widespread confusion in the automotive industry by proposing that all petrol and diesel cars would be banned from sale by 2040. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary given that many other countries are planning similar restrictions, with some supposedly kicking in much sooner than 2040.

The problem was no one was 100 per cent sure what the government meant - will hybrid cars included in the ban? Will only pure electric cars be available, or would a 48-volt mild hybrid system be enough to keep something with an internal combustion engine on sale? Now, the exact nature of the 2040 proposal has finally been clarified.

Any car on sale from 2040 onwards must be able to travel at least 50 miles on electric power alone. If such a ban came into force now, it wouldn’t result in just conventional petrol and diesel cars going off sale - no current hybrid vehicle can manage quite that distance without internal combustion intervention, so they’d be for the chop too. Only about two per cent of cars currently sold in the UK comply with the rule.

Of course, a lot will change in the car industry between then and now, but the government hasn’t made any mention of what it intends to do to put the necessary infrastructure in place to make such a ban feasible. The wording of the proposal isn’t final, either - the Financial Times reports that it’s currently under discussion between multiple government departments.

The Department for Transport meanwhile was quick to say that hybrids won’t be banned. “It is categorically untrue that government is planning to ban the sale of hybrid cars in the UK by 2040,” it told the publication.

Meanwhile, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) chief executive Mike Hawes said: “Unrealistic targets and misleading messaging on bans will only undermine our efforts to realise this future, confusing consumers and wreaking havoc on the new car market and the thousands of jobs it supports.”

Source: Financial Times