The United Kingdom may announce plans to push forward a ban on sales of new gasoline and diesel cars from 2040 to 2030, the Financial Times reported last week.
This will reportedly be announced as part of a package of environmental programs by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. It’s been delayed several times due to increased focus on the worsening coronavirus pandemic, according to the report.
A ban on sales of new internal-combustion cars by 2040 was first confirmed in 2018 as part of a broader strategy to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The original proposal included hybrids and plug-in hybrids, but under the new plan, sales will reportedly continue until 2035—five years after non-electrified models.
The 2040 deadline has been criticized as not aggressive enough. In May, U.K. transport secretary Grant Shapps said sales of new internal-combustion cars could be ended by 2035 or 2032, Autocar noted.
On the other hand, critics of the ban have said the U.K. lacks the charging infrastructure to handle an influx of electric cars. In response to that criticism, the government doubled its charging-station funding allocation to 10 million British pounds (about $13 million at current exchange rates) in January, according to Autocar.
Several other European countries—including France, the Netherlands, and Norway—have considered bans on internal-combustion cars. Stricter European Union emissions standards that took effect earlier this year have already led to increased EV production for that market.
While the Trump administration has sought to roll back federal emissions standards, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in September aiming to end sales of new gasoline cars by 2035.
This article was originally published by Motor Authority, an editorial partner of ClassicCars.com.
