Government expected to water down 2030 ban on ICE sales

The government is expected to back down on plans to reintroduce the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles.

Labour pledged to reinstate the 2030 deadline in its manifesto after the previous government pushed back the date from 2030 to 2035.

However, it has been reported that the government will announce it will allow hybrids to be sold for a further five years as demand for pure electrics from private buyers continues to wane.

A lack of sufficient charging infrastructure, high EV prices and continued range anxiety are the main reasons for falling demand.

2030 ban

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, electric vehicle registrations rose 10.8% in August to reach 22.6% of the market, while total year-to-date sales of 364,000 units represent a 17.2% market share. However, this uptick has been driven almost completely by fleets, with the SMMT reporting an 11.1% decline in EV sales to private buyers in July.

A number of car manufacturers have subsequently scaled back EV sales targets, with Volvo announcing in early September that it would now aim for EVs to make up 90% of new sales by 2030 instead of 100%.

Toyota, Ford and General Motors have also stepped back from fully-electric objectives.

A government spokesman said:

“This government’s policy has always been to revert to the original 2030 phase out date for the sale of new vehicles with pure internal combustion engines.The original phase out date included the provision for some hybrid vehicle sales between 2030 and 2035. We will set out further details on this in due course.”