This Country Is Banning Sale Of New Gasoline And Diesel Cars From 2030

The British Prime Minister will soon announce a ban on petrol (gasosline) and diesel-powered cars by the year 2030. This announcement bumps up the original timeline for the ban by 10 years. (1)

The UK Ban On Petrol and Diesel-Powered Cars

In 2008, the UK set for themselves an ambitious goal to reduce the country’s carbon emissions to be 80% less than they were in 1990 by 2050. In June 2019, they made it even more aggressive: To be completely carbon-neutral, aka zero emissions. (2)

To reach that target, the country originally stated that they would put a ban on the sale of petrol (gas) and diesel-powered cars starting in 2040. They then moved that up five years to 2035. (1)

Next week, it is expected that they will announce the ban to come into effect five years even earlier, in 2030, in order to reach their 2050 climate goals. (3)

The expectation is that the ban will be extended to 2035 for hybrid cars and that perhaps the timeline for combustion-engine vehicles will be a slightly easier 2032. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, however, is apparently leaning towards the more aggressive 2030 cut-off. (3)

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What This Means for the Automotive Industry

This increased timeline is meant to bolster the sale of electric vehicles in the UK as well as help the country hit its climate targets. This, of course, does not come without a cost: The government will spend £500 million, approximately $660 million US, to get the project off the ground. (3)

These expenditures will primarily go towards building a more robust electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the country. (3)

Naturally, the automotive industry isn’t enthusiastic about the idea. Hyundai and Toyota are apparently the most apprehensive about the success of an all-electric future. They believe that also banning hybrids is too restrictive. Some have said they may consider pulling investments from the UK if hybrid vehicles are banned as well. (3)

So far, this has not seemed to deter the government, which seems quite committed to reaching their climate change goals.

Ban On Petrol and Diesel-Powered Cars Around the World

The UK isn’t the only country with plans to phase out internal combustion engines (ICE) and fossil fuel-based vehicles. Other countries include (4):

• Austria: No new ICE vehicles sold after 2020
• China: End production and sales of ICE vehicles by 2040
• France: No new ICE vehicles sold after 2040
• Germany: No registration of ICE vehicles by 2030
• India: No new ICE vehicles sold after 2030
• Ireland: No new ICE vehicles sold after 2030
• Netherlands: No new ICE vehicles sold after 2030
• Scotland: No new ICE vehicles sold after 2032
• Taiwan: Phase-out ICE motorcycles by 2035 and vehicles by 2040

Other countries have set different goals, such as (4):

• Denmark: 5,000 electric vehicles (EV) on the road by 2019, using tax incentives
• Japan: Incentive programs in place to promote the sale of EVs 
• Norway: Incentive programs in place to promote the sale of EVs
• South Korea: EVs account for 30% of car sales by 2020
• Spain: Official target and incentives in place for EV sales

So far it seems that Britain is the only one to include hybrids in their ban.

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