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A woman charging an electric car
The UK motor industry is being consulted over how the phasing-out of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 will work, the government has announced.
The ban on sales of these vehicles had been extended to 2035 under the previous Conservative government but Labour said it would restore the 2030 deadline in its election manifesto.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is now seeking views from automotive and charging experts to “restore clarity” on how to deliver the ban.
Car industry leaders have warned drivers were not switching to electric vehicles at the rate needed to meet the deadline due to the cost of buying the cars privately and charging point infrastructure.
Last month, Ford said the UK government’s mandate to produce and sell more electric vehicles (EVs) “just doesn’t work” without demand.
Lisa Brankin, Ford UK’s chair and managing director, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The one thing that we really need is government-backed incentives to urgently boost the uptake of electric vehicles.”
The Department for Transport said the consultation would “restore clarity for vehicle manufacturers and the charging industry” so they “have the confidence to invest in the UK in the long term and drive growth in the UK automotive industry”.
‘The price point is crazy’
But some say they are not yet sold on switching to EVs. Kaylan Evans from London said she wouldn’t buy an electric car because “the price point is crazy”.
“I don’t like the element of relying on charging points and stations when the infrastructure isn’t that set up at the moment,” she added.
She said she and her husband are sticking to their petrol car for now.
Meanwhile, Angelina who is also from London says living in a block of flats there is not “an option to charge” vehicles there and wondered how having a personal electric point installed would affect electricity bills.
She wants to move away from her diesel car because of “the rising cost of fuel and t
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