Blogs/Vlogs

Hybrids now excluded from 2040 ban

30 July 2018

Despite a commitment made by the UK government last year to ban all new petrol and diesel cars by 2040, a concession has been made this month that hybrid cars will no longer be included in those plans. The government had previously pledged that hybrid vehicles would be part of the ban – which was seen as a heavy commitment to a clean air plan.

With T-charges introduced in October 2017, and a corresponding decline in new diesel registrations since then, there has been a feeling that diesel and petrol engines would all but disappear from Britain’s roads within the next 20 years. However, this reprieve will allow hybrid vehicles to be excluded from the ban as long as they are classed as Ultra-Low-Emission-Vehicles (cars with emissions under 75g/Km of CO2).

The government has changed tactics slightly, and now believes that the strategy to success is to influence car buyers by making it easier to recharge an electric car over visiting a petrol station – rather than banning hybrid vehicles altogether by 2040.

While environmental campaigners are disappointed by what they believe is a retraction of the government’s commitment to be tough on clean air, the motor industry is surely relieved that conventional engines will play a part in transition to zero-emissions cars in the UK. The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders have been vocal about the impact the band was having on consumer fears and lack of confidence in the diesel market, and indeed the UK car industry as a whole.

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