Oil prices spike above $90 a barrel: comment

“The oil price spiking above $90 a barrel is a reminder that we don’t have any control over these international markets and more drilling in the North Sea doesn’t affect the price. For four months drivers have been facing elevated petrol prices every time they fill up at the pump. In June around one in three new cars sold was an EV, but helping more British families make the switch to EVs will insulate them against the petrol and diesel cost of living crisis.

“Yet Government is rumoured to be considering weakening its EV sales targets. This could reverse the fall we have been seeing in the upfront price of EVs, as manufacturers are incentivised to sell more hybrid vehicles which simply do not offer the savings that EVs are capable of. Plug-in hybrids in particular cost significantly more to run in the real world than their manufacturers claim - meaning the Government could be inadvertently instigating another Dieselgate-style scandal.

“Every new EV sold today is a second-hand EV in on average around three years, which offer huge savings over running a petrol car.”