The UK Will Ban Petrol And Diesel New Car Sales From 2040
The UK is to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2040, in a move that matches a commitment already made by France.
Although the full details are yet to be published it’s thought that the move won’t stop petrol and diesel engines being part of drivetrains as long as they’re used in conjunction with electrification. The various types of petrol- or diesel-electric hybrids will almost certainly be allowed for a couple more decades after 2040.
The deadline is set at around the length of three full life cycles of a typical car, but with development of an all-new model normally starting between five and eight years before it goes on sale, there simply isn’t enough time to evolve today’s cars into a fully electric state. Nor is there enough time to find enough reliable extra electricity and capacity for the National Grid.
Most manufacturers already offer a degree of electrification, from mild hybrid superminis that cut the engine under deceleration to plug-in hybrid luxury saloons that can travel dozens of miles without using the engine. There are already plenty of full-electric cars, too.
The early information we have, as reported by the BBC, is that the new legislation will favour electric cars. That suggests to us that a new taxation regime will be put in place that slowly pushes people out of fossil-fuel-burning vehicles and into EVs. It’s likely that hybrids will be a halfway house, while petrols and diesels could be slapped with so much tax you’ll have to be a Premier League footballer to be able to afford to run one.
The move comes as political and public pressure to combat air pollution in London builds. Occasionally, parliament remembers that other cities exist, too, and wants to do something about the thousands of annual deaths that are put down to traffic fumes. We’ll keep an eye out for further details of the plans as they appear.
Comments
My dreams about 2040 Aston Martin DB30 is dead :’(
It will exsist with maybe a Rimac powertrain.
I understand the issues with Diesel.
But Petrol as well banned so soon? What’s wrong with them. What have they done? They just want to move freely in the natural habitat as well as having babies (new cars…).
This ban will be worse than banning weed
How long until an “EVgate” and then they tell us we have to all go round by horse and cart to save the planet 🤔🙄
In all seriousness if the Government want to solve “air quality” they need to manage traffic better, and to solve traffic problems they need to stop talking to anti-car loonies.
That is part of this initiative as well, they are looking into improving traffic flow.
I think all this talk of banning petrol and diesel is a massive knee-jerk reaction, the government have seen it as, superficially, the ‘best’ way to show everyone else that “Look, we care about the environment too!”
What they haven’t really thought about is how long it’ll take to effectively implement such a plan without causing a drain on the country’s already struggling power supply. Building more power stations just seems a bit counter-productive…
insert thank you gif here
I know its not the point…. but horses would not b the solution. They pollute just as much as cars when used amongst a city, they create alot of noise and manure. In the early 1900s new york was a haze of pollution and manure until the car was introduced and pollution levels went way down. if wanna know mire look up horse pollution new york city
F* this, I’m going to Mars!
The biggest statement in the BBC article is that they will “re-program traffic lights to allow traffic to flow smoothly”. ABOUT DAMN TIME! Were they not designed to originally?
They are ran on separate task loops that were designed in like the 1970s, like something you made in Sprite in computing class. I imagine the new ones will be able to communicate with each other and sense when there is traffic and when there is not
2040 ricer meets!!
I’m going to kill myself
Diesel I understand, but petrol I’m done man, all my dreams down the drain.
I could import from Australia or America