The Labour government has announced it’ll reintroduce the 2030 petrol and diesel car ban, reversing the previous Tory government’s decision to push it back to 2035. It was one of Labour’s key motoring election policies – and Heidi Alexander, the UK’s Transport Secretary has since sparked a consultation with the motoring industry to learn how the government can better help carmakers hit the deadline.
Alexander, said: ‘The previous government caused significant harm to the industry by moving goalposts on phase out dates, creating doubt in the minds of investors and boardrooms and putting at risk the billions of pounds of committed investment in the automotive sector and in the chargepoint sector.
‘Our plans will restore clarity for manufacturers, provide renewed confidence for charging infrastructure investors and give confidence to consumers considering making the switch. No new petrol or diesel cars will be sold after 2030. All new cars and vans will need to be 100% zero emission by 2035.’
Reverting the ban certainly won’t be easy for Labour, though. For starters, sales of new electric cars weren’t as strong as expected in 2024. In fact, November was the only month that EV sales achieved the 22% market share imposed by the government’s ZEV mandate – and the overall EV market share for the year was just 19.6%.
Plus, car manufacturers are hedging their bets on electric vehicles, partly due to the ever-shifting nature of the legislation surrounding them and party due to their poor sales. Audi, for example, has just launched new, combustion-powered versions of the A5 and Q5.
To compound all these issues, Labour has less time to meet the deadline. That means its EV sales targets will have to be much more aggressive. That means it could be forced to provide significant incentives to encourage private buyers to make the switch, at a time when public finances are already stretched very thin.
Scroll down to find out everything about the government’s combustion engine car ban and learn how it will affect you as the next decade approaches.
What is the 2030 petrol and diesel car ban?
It’s a piece of legislation that was introduced by the previous Tory government, designed to motivate both car manufacturers and consumers to adopt electric vehicles and help lower the UK’s CO2 emissions. It states that car makers will not be allowed to sell any new pure petrol- and diesel-powered cars in the UK from 2030. Some hybrid vehicles will be allowed to remain on sale until 2035, at which point the nation will go EV-only.
The 2030 ban is supported by the ZEV mandate. This piece of legislation has set EV sales targets for manufacturers to meet each year between now and the 2030 ban. The targets will increase each year until the ban – and, to incentivise car manufacturers to adapt, the government will dish out fines to any brand that can’t meet the targets.
Why was the 2030 ban moved by the Tories?
When Sunak pushed the ban back in mid-2023, he said: ‘People are already choosing electric vehicles to such an extent that we’re registering a new one every 60 seconds. But I also think that, at least for now, it should be you the consumer that makes that choice, not government forcing you to do it. Because the upfront cost is still high, especially for families struggling with the cost of living.’
Sunak also insisted that UK was well on its way to achieving its Net Zero goals. He said: ‘We’ve had the fastest reduction is greenhouse gas emissions in the G7. Down almost 50% since 1990. And when our share of global emissions is less than 1%, how can it be right that British citizens are now being told to sacrifice even more than others? If we continue down this path, we risk losing consent of the British people.’
It’s also worth noting that the 2030 date was imposed during the premiership of Boris Johnson without a clear roadmap for how to achieve it. Sunak appeared to fire a shot at his predecessor when he rowed back on the deadline, saying: ‘The decisions that could bring real change, change that could alter the trajectory of our country, can be so lacking in debate and fundamental scrutiny that we’ve stumbled into a consensus about the future of our country that no one seems to be happy with.’
Plus, there was – and still is – a lot of uncertainty about whether the UK would be able to hit the targets imposed by the ZEV mandate. The law states that, for 2024, 22% of the new cars sold on our shores had to be EVs. But at the end of 2024, electric cars only accounted for 19.6% of the UK’s new car market – a figure that remained basically unchanged over 2023.
Recent polling has also suggested that the 2030 petrol and diesel ban lacks public support. The AA conducted a survey in June 2023 and found just 16% of people agreed with the ban. If that wasn’t bad enough, our sister site Fleet News held a poll immediately after Sunak moved the ban – and 86% of its respondents agreed with the delay.
What do car makers think of the 2030 ban?
The automotive industry has offered mixed (and rather vocal) responses to the renewed 2030 ban. Ford’s UK Chair, Lisa Brankin, said: ‘This is the biggest industry transformation in over a century and the UK 2030 target is a vital catalyst to accelerate Ford into a cleaner future. Our business needs three things from the UK government: ambition, commitment and consistency. A relaxation of 2030 would undermine all three.’
Ford committed £40 billion to electrifying its global model range and has plans to launch several new EVs in the UK by the end of the year. The firm has already kickstarted its EV transformation with the launch of the new Capri SUV – and it’s already unveiled an electric version of its bestselling Puma SUV.
Plenty of other manufacturers have also criticised the change, including BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia and Volkswagen. Plus, the UK’s motoring industry trade body, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has added its condemnation.
However, Toyota was pleased by the move saying: ‘[the] announcement is welcome as it provides clarity industry has been asking for and recognises that all low emission and affordable technologies can have a role to play in a pragmatic vehicle transition. We believe this can also help relevant parties to adapt including consumers, manufacturers, infrastructure and energy providers.”
Toyota has adopted an open-minded approach to the future of car propulsion, spreading is bets across internal combustion, hybrid, battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell technology.
Will I be able to buy a petrol or diesel car after 2030?
Providing the car’s petrol or diesel engine is supported by a hybrid system, then yes – although the government’s current rhetoric is that it’s expecting almost every new car in the UK to be powered by batteries by 2030 anyway. So, it shouldn’t matter.
Despite this, the Transport Secretary is currently liaising with car manufacturers to reach a decision on which types of hybrid cars will be allowed to remain on sale after the 2030 ban. The only stipulation the government has specified thus far is that the cars must have ‘significant zero-emissions capability.’
What’s interesting is that manufacturers are still hedging their bets on being allowed to sell petrol and diesel cars after 2030. Audi, for example, has launched a new petrol-powered version of the A5 – and the company tells us that the technology underpinning the car could survive beyond the 2035 deadline if legislation changes.
Can I still drive my petrol or diesel car after 2035?
Yes. The ban is on the sale of new vehicles – not the continued use of older ones. This also means that used petrol or diesel cars will still be available. There will not be a requirement for you to scrap or sell your car and move to hybrid or electric cars
Will petrol and diesel cars be worthless in 10 years?
No. While there will be less demand for new ones as 2035 hoves into view, there will still be a very active market for used cars, especially from those people who are unable to run an electric car on financial or lifestyle grounds. And with the average life of a new car standing at 16 years, if you buy one in 2034, you’ll be possibly running it well into the 2050s.
Is it wise to buy a petrol car now?
If you can’t run an electric car, or simply don’t want to, then buying a petrol car right now poses no problems at all. There are a few factors to consider when future-proofing including how much you have to spend, where you live and what charging is in place. A petrol car still also costs less than a diesel, and as discussed above, fuel supplies will need to remain in place for decades to come.
What will happen to classic petrol cars after 2035?
Nothing. They’ll carry on running as they are now. Most classics require E5 fuel to run properly, and supplies of this might tighten in the coming years, but you’ll always be able to buy it, even if the premium rises above where it is now.
Is the UK ready to go electric?
A lot can happen in the next few years, but let’s not underestimate what a challenge this could be. The UK’s charging infrastructure still has lots of hurdles to overcome, even if it has progressed in leaps and bounds. Hopefully, with continued investment from government, car manufacturers and charging providers, it will continue to expand and improve.
For the majority of users, charging at home overnight will remain the best bet. The expansion of a network of rapid chargers, meanwhile, will accommodate those who don’t have somewhere to charge at home, or those undertaking long journeys. We’re cautiously optimistic that this network will be massively improved by the time the ban comes into force. Whether it’s in 2030 or 2035.
What about commercial vehicles?
The government hasn’t yet given us a clear indication on whether the ban will extend to vans and pickup trucks weighing under 3.5 tonnes (3.5t or 3,500kg) as well as passenger cars. If it does, it will be particularly concerning for businesses.
A viable long-distance zero-emission light commercial vehicle (LCV) has not yet hit the market. Most current electric vans are suitable only for short journeys with modest payloads.
The ban is now less than a decade away, so we’ll have to live in hope that van manufacturers can provide a solution to this within the timeframe. But when we spoke to senior management working in this area at Ford vans, they did not seem to think this was very feasible.
Is hydrogen a viable option?
At the moment? Not remotely. There are only a handful of hydrogen filling stations in the UK and the few vehicles that can use them aren’t on full public sale.
However, several manufacturers are investing heavily in hydrogen cars, and the infrastructure is sure to follow. It could well be a true alternative by 2035 – but we’ve been saying this sort of thing about hydrogen for decades.
Infrastructure – the lack of hydrgen fuelling stations, for example – is a severe obstacle here.
Does this mean I shouldn’t buy a hybrid or PHEV?
Not at all. These cars still make a lot of sense for today’s consumers, and there’s nothing to say you can’t still use it after the ban on new sales comes into force at a date yet to be set.
Hybrids and PHEVs in particular do sidestep a lot of current legislation on emissions, and they’re a good alternative to diesels for those wishing to drop their fuel bills.
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Luke Wilkinson is Deputy Editor of Parkers. He has five years of experience as a car journalist, and spends his time writing news, reviews, features and advice pieces for both Parkers and its sister site CAR magazine.
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