Government urged to advance petrol and diesel ban

The Committee on Climate Change has advised the government to bring forward its ban on petrol and diesel vehicles to 2032.

The government is working to a provisional date of 2035 to ban the sale of all vehicles that aren’t zero-emission, but the committee’s progress report is now suggesting that target is too late.

However, the BVRLA is not sure if that is a realistic target.

Toby Poston, BVRLA director of corporate affairs said: “It is too early to say whether 2032 is a realistic target date for the entire new car and van market to go zero-emission. In the fleet sector, the zero-emission vehicle outlook varies considerably depending on what type of vehicle you are using and what your operating model is.

“There needs to be a more segmented approach that considers what is realistic for all vehicle types. Suitable vehicle supply, infrastructure, range and cost of ownership is not there yet for all fleet users. The challenges faced by LCV and HGV operators is very different to those faced by car fleet operators, who are further along on the road to zero.

“While we welcome measures that help ensure an adequate supply of new electric vehicles into the UK, we would not support a zero-emission vehicle mandate, particularly if it also led to any kind of fleet EV mandate requiring companies to make a certain portion of their fleet zero-emission. With vehicle availability, affordability and infrastructure not being where it needs to be, the market is just not ready for this kind of operating constraints at a time.

“These issues are fundamental to driving an uptake in zero-emission vehicles and the BVRLA will continue to make recommendations to government as to what support is needed.”