Several European countries, including Britain, have declared their intentions to ban sales of all new petrol and diesel cars by 2040 and allow only sales of electric, hybrid and hydrogen-powered cars. Remaining fossil fuel cars would be allowed but heavily penalized, charged to go into city centers and banned from congested areas.
These governments would have us believe that a century-long industry will no longer be with us after 23 years and a new industry will replace it from 2040 onwards. This massive change is supposed to happen without consultation with the two main elements involved: consumers and the industry.
In Britain, the Royal Automobile Society, better known as the RAC, conducted research among several thousand of its members. Only 2 percent of these motorists believe their next car would be electric. An RAC spokesman, Nicholas Lyes, said there is little evidence to suggest that the UK’s energy infrastructure will be ready for the large-scale shift to electric vehicles.
He added: “Right now, public charging facilities are patchy; there is very little on-street charging in residential areas and, unlike filling up a car with petrol or diesel, drivers cannot recharge a vehicle in a matter of minutes.”
On the industry side, the British Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) said there have to be big changes to insurance and maintenance for electric vehicles in order for the government to expect motorists to move into lower emission vehicles.
IMI research discovered that insurance premiums for low-emission vehicles were in some cases 50 percent higher than for similar petrol or diesel vehicles. It also uncovered that only 1 percent of all qualified mechanics have been trained to work safely on high-voltage technology. IMI is suggesting a licensing scheme for mechanics to train them, for which it needs £30 million from the government.
Other evidence comes from Fairfuel UK, which campaigns for better motoring policies. It said: “Banning new diesel and petrol car sales by 2040 will cost trillions to consumers; it is naïve and ill thought out.”
So far, there is no evidence that such ban in 2040 is feasible.
• Adel Murad is a senior motoring and business journalist based in London.
2040 and beyond
2040 and beyond
