Ready2Lease has learnt today that the UK Government are now working toward reinstating the previously planned ban on new diesel and petrol vehicles, due to come into effect in 2035. The latest news is that the original date of 2030 is back on.
Industry gossip regarding the specific details and actual timing of the change have been building heavily since the general election, Returning the Phase Out deadline to 2030 was a feature of the Labour party manifesto during this summer’s election campaign, although only cars were explicitly mentioned in the document. There is no further news on how vans and commercial vehicles may be impacted.
The British Vehicle, Rental and leasing association (BVRLA) for which Ready2Lease are members, have today published the below statement that they received from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV);
“As per our manifesto, we are committed to phasing out new cars that rely solely on internal combustion engines by 2030. We want to provide certainty and ensure consumers can benefit from more efficient vehicles as we take action to clean up our transport system.”
“The ZEV Mandate already requires 80% of all new cars to be ZEV by 2030. We are not proposing to change this. There will be no sales of pure combustion engine cars from 2030 and we will ensure new non-ZEVs in the 2030-35 period meet a minimum standard. We will consult shortly on 2030-2035 requirements for both cars and vans, with the aim of defining these standards by the end of 2024. All new cars and vans must be ZEV by 2035. We will work closely with stakeholders to support demand for ZEVs, and to ensure consumers reap the benefits of more efficient vehicles.”
The BVRLA continue by saying that they expect a formal consultation process to open toward the end of September or Early October. There is a desire from the Government to have the details nailed down before Christmas 2024, which isn’t long considering the scale of the decision and what is likely required to make it happen – Topics such as what specifications vehicles must have in order to be compliant are still up in the air.
“The expected inclusion of vans within the consultation is a cause for concern for many across the industry. Members and fleet operators continue to have widespread concerns about the feasibility of hybrids offering a solution. There is not the volume of hybrid vans in the market currently – or expected – to meet the revised timeline.” – BVRLA
The BVRLA response to the update is:
“The ZEV mandate timetable and revised Phase Out target present a major risk unless we see much greater government support to stimulate new and used BEV demand and better charging infrastructure.
“When it comes to electric van adoption, the lack of suitable BEV LCV product in – or about to hit – the UK market means the fleet sector will not be able to reach a 2030 Phase Out target.”
Please be assured that the BVRLA’s policy and public affairs team is working hard on behalf of members to ensure that the relevant contacts and departments across government are hearing our views.
September 2024 will be our busiest month of campaigning ever. Milestone moments to that include our annual Parliamentary Reception, the launch of an exclusive report into the used BEV market and support required, plus an active presence at the Labour and Conservative party conferences.
Ready2Lease will be sharing our comments with the BVRLA, as we too feel that the removal of ICE Commercial vehicles will present a problem to our existing commercial fleet customers who are not yet ready for electric, or the solutions available at present are just not suitable.
