UK could hit emissions target in 2034

New research has found that the UK could achieve its target of “most vehicles on the road being low emission” by 2034, a full year before the ban on the sale of petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles comes into force.

Euro Car Parts looked at the UK as a whole, as well as drilling down into the capital and the UK’s 10 most congested cities outside of London, to see how prepared they are to make the switch.

It found that Southampton was the most prepared city in the UK, while in the UK as a whole a Department for Transport report in 2018 stated only two per cent of registered vehicles are low emission. While this seems a long way off target, the year on year growth shows the UK has had a 37% increase in low emission cars since 2016. If it continues at this rate, the UK will have 38.2m low emission vehicles on the road by 2034.

However, despite the target already predicted to be hit earlier than anticipated, Euro Car Parts’ research revealed the nation’s drivers aren’t quite ready to take the plunge, with ‘not enough charging points’ and ‘being stranded without charge or accessibility to charging services’ the main concerns.

Chris Barella, digital services director at Euro Car Parts, said: “It’s interesting to see that while figures suggest the government are on track to hit their low emission vehicle target, perhaps even earlier than anticipated, the nation’s views and attitudes towards alternative fuel vehicles, means we still have a long way to go.

“It seems the biggest concern is the number of charging points and it’s understandable why. If the year-on-year figures are anything to go by, we simply won’t be equipped to supply the demand.”