Public back Government’s petrol and diesel car phase out

With some calling on the Government to reverse its commitment to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030 (and of new hybrids by 2035), polling by Focaldata and for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) reveals greater levels of support for keeping the phase out dates in place than for pushing them back [1].

When asked, nearly half (46%) of respondents said that the Government should continue with its plans, even if it means new petrol and diesel cars won’t be available after 2035. By comparison, only around a third (34%) say that the Government should delay the phase out date.

Analysis from the ECIU has found that over £13bn in car exports could be in jeopardy if the UK doesn’t speed up its transition to manufacturing electric cars. Currently four in every five cars (80%) built in the UK are exported. Of these, 71% go to three large markets – the EU, China and 16 American states – that are committed to phasing out sales of petrol and diesel vehicles. If the UK’s car industry fails to respond to these changes in demand and develop its EV manufacturing base, a conservative scenario suggests UK car exports could fall by over £13bn in 2030 alone [2].

The charging industry has stated that the petrol and diesel phase out dates, and accompanying ZEV mandate, provide certainly to invest in improving the UK’s charging infrastructure. Based on the current dates, the industry has committed over £6bn in investment to 2030 to roll out hundreds of thousands of new public chargers. Changes to these dates creates uncertainty and, in the words of ChargeUK, ‘…will mean billions of pounds of investment, thousands of new and green jobs and the supply of second hand EVs are put at risk’ [3].