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End of road for petrol and diesel cars and vans

Traffic stock night _ credit Robert Peel
Red light for petrol and diesel. Picture: Robert Peel

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26 July 2017

THE SALE of new ‘conventional’ petrol and diesel cars and vans will be banned from 2040 in a £3 billion new clean air strategy to tackle air pollution, the Government confirmed today, following a similar ruling by France.

A diesel scrappage plan for the immediate short term was rejected on the grounds that previous schemes had been “poor value” but consultation will be revived in the autumn, which is when London’s T-charge or toxicity charge will supplement the Congestion Charge for many older cars and vans.

The government said it will then issue a consultation to gather views on measures to support motorists, residents and businesses affected by local plans – such as retrofitting, subsidised car club memberships, exemptions from any vehicles restrictions, or a targeted scrappage scheme for car and van drivers.

It stressed: “Measures considered will need to target those most in need of support, provide strong value for the taxpayer and be resistant to fraud.”

Details of the Government’s measures are published in The UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations produced by Defra and the Department for Transport.

It was also announced that manufacturers found to be using devices on their vehicles to cheat emissions tests could face criminal and civil charges, with fines of up to £50,000 for every device installed, under proposed new laws.

The Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) said that any short-term impact of the petrol and diesel ban announcements on the used car market was “highly unlikely”.

The trade organisation – which represents companies that are involved in remarketing more than 1.5 million vehicles every year – says that the deadline is far enough away that its strongest effects will not be felt for some considerable time.

Chairman Glenn Sturley said: “The implications of this announcement are huge and a more measured approach to this news reaching the market would have been welcome.

“It is certainly something that will institute significant changes – from a remodelling of our city streets to install mass recharging networks for electric cars to potential loss of jobs in the oil industry.”

The government announcement ruled out fiscal penalties for diesel users because of past governments’ incentives to switch from petrol to diesel, reflected in the table featured below.

In 1996 diesel powered less than one in ten cars and 60% of vans, while in 2016 the proportions had risen to 39% of cars and 96.2% of vans with the total number of vehicles on the road up from  24.4m in 1996 to 34.5m in 2016, according to figures from the DVLA.

The government has said that by 2040 ‘most vehicles’ will be zero emissions, with all vehicles by 2050, leaving a decade to phase out what by then will be fossil fuel dinosaurs.

In a long-term challenge to business car planning and investment, the “conventional diesel and petrol” ban would not knock out hybrids too for the range on offer in the 2040 new car showrooms.

Such zero emission vehicles currently account for less than one-third of alternative fuel new vehicle registrations. Alternative Fuel Vehicle registrations currently amount to 4% of  new car registrations.

The government has said that by 2040 ‘most vehicles’ will be zero emissions, with all vehicles by 2050, leaving a decade to phase out what by then will be fossil fuel dinosaurs.

The 22 years to 2040 may seem a long time, but not in radical automotive vehicle and infrastructure redesign, with an average seven-year generation cycle for a new car.

This is not to mention the financial and environmental implications for scrappage of what’s left of the country’s cars and vans currently numbering approaching 35 million.

By comparison the HS2 high speed rail link between London and the Midlands, first proposed in 2009 with construction starting in 2017, is scheduled for completion in 2033 at the latest cost estimate of £56 billion.

Not surprisingly the move has been welcomed by those involved in electric vehicle infrastructure.

  • Home charging for electric vehicles. For the story, click here

Alex Bamberg, managing director of ChargePoint Services, said.  “The market is accelerating much faster than the Governments’ deadline of 2040, we see an expediential take up of electric vehicles and charging which will bring the UK more in line with Norway’s deadline of 2025.

“Today’s announcement will surely bring about a step change with consumers demanding new electric models and turning away from purchasing traditional ICE powered vehicles.  In 2016, sales of alternatively fueled vehicles (AFVs) experienced a huge increase, with demand up 22% across the year, and 10,000 motorists choosing to go pure electric.

“Today’s announcement is likely to fuel this demand and we expect that figures for 2017 will increase significantly.”

  • Volvo goes electric only. For the story, click here

And then there’s the question of heavy haulage, such as trucks and construction vehicles – as well as other pollution factors such as from shipping and domestic and commercial heating systems.

A £255m fund is to be offered to help councils speed up local measures to deal with pollution from diesel vehicles, as part of the £3bn in spending on air quality.

Yet critics said the 2040 ban was “too little too late”, with the Liberal Democrats calling for new diesel sales to end by 2025.

  • Battery MINI hatch planned as BMW ramps up electrification.  For the story, click here

The Government will include the 2040 ban in a court-mandated clean air strategy being published today, just days before the July 31 deadline set by the High Court.

It was ordered to produce new plans to tackle illegal levels of harmful pollutant nitrogen dioxide after the courts agreed with environmental campaigners that previous proposals were not enough to meet EU pollution limits.

France and Germany are already ahead of the UK in setting low emission zones where the worst polluting petrol and diesel vehicles are banned.

UK car statistics – source: DVLA

Year  Licensed cars on road  Petrol %  Diesel %  Electric/hybrid %
 1996  22,237,500  90.2%  9.8%  –
 2006  27,609,200  77.7%  22%  0.1%
 2016  30,850,400  59.7%  39.1%  1.0%

UK LCV statistics – source: DVLA

 Year  Licensed vans on road   Petrol %  Diesel %   Electric/hybrid %
 1996  2,173,900  39.6%  59.01%  0.5%
 2006  3,023,100  7.9%  91.6%  0.2%
 2016  3,782,000  3.4%  96.2 %  0.1%

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