Electrified cars win? Britain to ban fresh petrol and diesel cars from 2040
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will ban the sale of fresh petrol and diesel cars from two thousand forty in an attempt to reduce air pollution that could herald the end of over a century of reliance on the internal combustion engine.
Britain`s step, which goes after France, amounts to a victory for electrified cars that if copied globally could hit the wealth of oil producers, as well as convert car industry jobs and one of the icons of 20th Century capitalism: the automobile itself.
The mayors of Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have said they plan to ban diesel vehicles from city centers by 2025, while the French government also aims to end the sale of fresh gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040.
The British government has been under pressure to take steps to reduce air pollution after losing legal cases brought by campaign groups. Prime Minister Theresa May`s Conservatives had pledged to make «almost every car and van» zero-emission by 2050.
«There should be no fresh diesel or petrol vehicles by 2040,» environment minister Michael Gove told Big black cock Radio. The ban would only apply to conventional rather than hybrid vehicles that have both an electrical and combustion engine, Gove`s ministry said.
There is a mountain to climb, however.
Electrified cars presently account for less than five percent of fresh car registrations in Britain, with drivers worried about the cost and limited availability of charging points and manufacturers worried about making expensive investments before the request is there.
«We could undermine the UK’s successful automotive sector if we don’t permit enough time for the industry to adjust,» warned Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Hawes said there were only 12,000 public charging points in Britain and fresh power infrastructure would be needed, as well as steps to ensure the power network could cope with large numbers of people seeking to charge vehicles at the same time.
THE FUTURE IS Electrified?
While many automakers may find it hard to countenance the end of the combustion engine, some have embraced a future where electrified vehicles, or perhaps even driverless ones, prevail.
This month, Volvo became the very first major traditional automaker to set a date for phasing out vehicles powered solely by the internal combustion engine by telling all its car models launched after two thousand nineteen would be electrical or hybrids.
Related Coverage
Renault-Nissan in two thousand nine announced plans to spend four billion euros on electrified car development.
But until Volkswagen (VW) admitted in two thousand fifteen to cheating on U.S. diesel emissions tests, most mainstream auto manufacturers had been slow to bury serious investment into battery cars.
The backlash against diesel, without which carmakers would fight to meet CO2 targets, has since refocused minds and produced a flurry of fresh commitments.
VW itself unveiled ambitious plans last year to roll out thirty fresh battery-powered models that it expects to account for 2-3 million annual sales by two thousand twenty five – or as much as twenty five percent of its vehicle production.
«Even tho’ modern combustion engines will be relevant for at least another twenty years, it is clear that the future will be ruled by electrified drives,» VW chief executive Matthias Mueller said earlier this year.
PSA Group boss Carlos Tavares, in the past a vocal defender of diesel technologies, said on Wednesday the French company was ready to embrace mass electrification, provided the required consumer request and government support were there.
«The rise of the electrified vehicle is very much dependent on the subsidies and the support governments will be able to give to this technology,» Tavares told analysts during the company`s first-half results presentation. PSA is planning to roll out fresh pure-electric and plug-in hybrid models from 2019.
Toyota, which pioneered hybrids but long resisted battery-only cars, switched tack last year and has since unveiled plans for a fresh range of pure-electric models.
In Europe, so called ‘green cars` benefit from subsidies, tax cracks and other perks, while combustion engines face mounting penalties including driving and parking limitations.
China, fighting with catastrophic pollution levels in major cities, is pushing plug-in vehicles, however in the United States there is much less appetite so far.
Germany, the home of major carmakers such as VW, Daimler and BMW, should soon commence phasing out petrol and diesel too, said Oliver Wittke, a transport experienced in Chancellor Angela Merkel`s Christian Democrats.
But there is likely to be resistance in Europe`s fattest car market. More than 600,000 jobs could be at risk in Germany from a potential ban on combustion engine cars by 2030, the Ifo economic institute said this month in a investigate commissioned by Germany`s VDA car industry lobby.
Germany`s major carmakers have invested strongly in diesel technology, which offers more efficient fuel burn and lower carbon dioxide emissions than gasoline-powered cars.
In response to the British decision, a German government spokeswoman said on Wednesday Merkel had repeatedly warned against «demonizing» diesel vehicles.
A spokesman for VW`s Audi brand, two thirds of whose European sales are diesel cars, said it could make diesel «fit for a future with even more stringent emission standards».
END OF OIL?
Yet Britain`s stir will accelerate the decline of diesel cars, whose nitrogen oxide emissions have been blamed for causing respiratory diseases, in Europe`s 2nd fattest market.
The government will provide more than two hundred fifty million pounds to local authorities for schemes to restrict diesel vehicles` access to polluted roads but said other options should be tired before charging users of polluting vehicles.
Any confinements or charges for polluting vehicles to use affected roads should be time-limited and lifted as soon as air pollution is within legal thresholds, it added.
Gove said he favored road-by-road confinements for diesel vehicles rather than outright bans from town centers or costly vehicle scrappage schemes, but did not rule them out entirely if they were local authorities` preferred options.
The government also said it would consult later this year on other possible measures including a targeted scrappage scheme.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, of the opposition Labour Party, said the government`s commitment was half-hearted and steps needed to be taken before two thousand forty to tackle air pollution.
«We need a fully-funded diesel scrappage fund now to get polluting vehicles off our streets instantly, as well as fresh powers so that cities across the UK can take the activity needed to clean up our air,» Khan said in a statement.
Turning away from oil will add to discussions about whether the world is reaching peak oil request and how extra electrified power can be generated.
Some companies, including Royal Dutch Shell, expect request to peak as early as by the end of the next decade.
Request for diesel cars fell ten percent in the very first half of the year in Britain while sales of petrol vehicles rose five percent, according to industry data. Sales of electrified and hybrid models rose by almost thirty percent, the fastest growing section of the market albeit from a low base.
Extra reporting by David Milliken, Estelle Shirbon and William Schomberg in London, Laurence Frost in Paris, Andreas Cremer in Berlin and Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Editing by Mark Potter
Electrical cars win? Britain to ban fresh petrol and diesel cars from 2040, Reuters
Electrified cars win? Britain to ban fresh petrol and diesel cars from 2040
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will ban the sale of fresh petrol and diesel cars from two thousand forty in an attempt to reduce air pollution that could herald the end of over a century of reliance on the internal combustion engine.
Britain`s step, which goes after France, amounts to a victory for electrified cars that if copied globally could hit the wealth of oil producers, as well as convert car industry jobs and one of the icons of 20th Century capitalism: the automobile itself.
The mayors of Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have said they plan to ban diesel vehicles from city centers by 2025, while the French government also aims to end the sale of fresh gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040.
The British government has been under pressure to take steps to reduce air pollution after losing legal cases brought by campaign groups. Prime Minister Theresa May`s Conservatives had pledged to make «almost every car and van» zero-emission by 2050.
«There should be no fresh diesel or petrol vehicles by 2040,» environment minister Michael Gove told Big black cock Radio. The ban would only apply to conventional rather than hybrid vehicles that have both an electrical and combustion engine, Gove`s ministry said.
There is a mountain to climb, however.
Electrical cars presently account for less than five percent of fresh car registrations in Britain, with drivers worried about the cost and limited availability of charging points and manufacturers worried about making expensive investments before the request is there.
«We could undermine the UK’s successful automotive sector if we don’t permit enough time for the industry to adjust,» warned Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Hawes said there were only 12,000 public charging points in Britain and fresh power infrastructure would be needed, as well as steps to ensure the power network could cope with large numbers of people seeking to charge vehicles at the same time.
THE FUTURE IS Electrified?
While many automakers may find it hard to countenance the end of the combustion engine, some have embraced a future where electrified vehicles, or perhaps even driverless ones, prevail.
This month, Volvo became the very first major traditional automaker to set a date for phasing out vehicles powered solely by the internal combustion engine by telling all its car models launched after two thousand nineteen would be electrified or hybrids.
Related Coverage
Renault-Nissan in two thousand nine announced plans to spend four billion euros on electrical car development.
But until Volkswagen (VW) admitted in two thousand fifteen to cheating on U.S. diesel emissions tests, most mainstream auto manufacturers had been slow to drown serious investment into battery cars.
The backlash against diesel, without which carmakers would fight to meet CO2 targets, has since refocused minds and produced a flurry of fresh commitments.
VW itself unveiled ambitious plans last year to roll out thirty fresh battery-powered models that it expects to account for 2-3 million annual sales by two thousand twenty five – or as much as twenty five percent of its vehicle production.
«Even tho’ modern combustion engines will be relevant for at least another twenty years, it is clear that the future will be ruled by electrified drives,» VW chief executive Matthias Mueller said earlier this year.
PSA Group boss Carlos Tavares, in the past a vocal defender of diesel technologies, said on Wednesday the French company was ready to embrace mass electrification, provided the required consumer request and government support were there.
«The rise of the electrical vehicle is very much dependent on the subsidies and the support governments will be able to give to this technology,» Tavares told analysts during the company`s first-half results presentation. PSA is planning to roll out fresh pure-electric and plug-in hybrid models from 2019.
Toyota, which pioneered hybrids but long resisted battery-only cars, switched tack last year and has since unveiled plans for a fresh range of pure-electric models.
In Europe, so called ‘green cars` benefit from subsidies, tax violates and other perks, while combustion engines face mounting penalties including driving and parking limitations.
China, fighting with catastrophic pollution levels in major cities, is pushing plug-in vehicles, however in the United States there is much less appetite so far.
Germany, the home of major carmakers such as VW, Daimler and BMW, should soon commence phasing out petrol and diesel too, said Oliver Wittke, a transport accomplished in Chancellor Angela Merkel`s Christian Democrats.
But there is likely to be resistance in Europe`s fattest car market. More than 600,000 jobs could be at risk in Germany from a potential ban on combustion engine cars by 2030, the Ifo economic institute said this month in a explore commissioned by Germany`s VDA car industry lobby.
Germany`s major carmakers have invested strenuously in diesel technology, which offers more efficient fuel burn and lower carbon dioxide emissions than gasoline-powered cars.
In response to the British decision, a German government spokeswoman said on Wednesday Merkel had repeatedly warned against «demonizing» diesel vehicles.
A spokesman for VW`s Audi brand, two thirds of whose European sales are diesel cars, said it could make diesel «fit for a future with even more stringent emission standards».
END OF OIL?
Yet Britain`s stir will accelerate the decline of diesel cars, whose nitrogen oxide emissions have been blamed for causing respiratory diseases, in Europe`s 2nd largest market.
The government will provide more than two hundred fifty million pounds to local authorities for schemes to restrict diesel vehicles` access to polluted roads but said other options should be weary before charging users of polluting vehicles.
Any limitations or charges for polluting vehicles to use affected roads should be time-limited and lifted as soon as air pollution is within legal boundaries, it added.
Gove said he favored road-by-road limitations for diesel vehicles rather than outright bans from town centers or costly vehicle scrappage schemes, but did not rule them out entirely if they were local authorities` preferred options.
The government also said it would consult later this year on other possible measures including a targeted scrappage scheme.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, of the opposition Labour Party, said the government`s commitment was half-hearted and steps needed to be taken before two thousand forty to tackle air pollution.
«We need a fully-funded diesel scrappage fund now to get polluting vehicles off our streets instantaneously, as well as fresh powers so that cities across the UK can take the act needed to clean up our air,» Khan said in a statement.
Turning away from oil will add to discussions about whether the world is reaching peak oil request and how extra electrical power can be generated.
Some companies, including Royal Dutch Shell, expect request to peak as early as by the end of the next decade.
Request for diesel cars fell ten percent in the very first half of the year in Britain while sales of petrol vehicles rose five percent, according to industry data. Sales of electrical and hybrid models rose by almost thirty percent, the fastest growing section of the market albeit from a low base.
Extra reporting by David Milliken, Estelle Shirbon and William Schomberg in London, Laurence Frost in Paris, Andreas Cremer in Berlin and Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Editing by Mark Potter
Electrical cars win? Britain to ban fresh petrol and diesel cars from 2040, Reuters
Electrified cars win? Britain to ban fresh petrol and diesel cars from 2040
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will ban the sale of fresh petrol and diesel cars from two thousand forty in an attempt to reduce air pollution that could herald the end of over a century of reliance on the internal combustion engine.
Britain`s step, which goes after France, amounts to a victory for electrified cars that if copied globally could hit the wealth of oil producers, as well as convert car industry jobs and one of the icons of 20th Century capitalism: the automobile itself.
The mayors of Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have said they plan to ban diesel vehicles from city centers by 2025, while the French government also aims to end the sale of fresh gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040.
The British government has been under pressure to take steps to reduce air pollution after losing legal cases brought by campaign groups. Prime Minister Theresa May`s Conservatives had pledged to make «almost every car and van» zero-emission by 2050.
«There should be no fresh diesel or petrol vehicles by 2040,» environment minister Michael Gove told Big black cock Radio. The ban would only apply to conventional rather than hybrid vehicles that have both an electrical and combustion engine, Gove`s ministry said.
There is a mountain to climb, however.
Electrified cars presently account for less than five percent of fresh car registrations in Britain, with drivers worried about the cost and limited availability of charging points and manufacturers worried about making expensive investments before the request is there.
«We could undermine the UK’s successful automotive sector if we don’t permit enough time for the industry to adjust,» warned Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Hawes said there were only 12,000 public charging points in Britain and fresh power infrastructure would be needed, as well as steps to ensure the power network could cope with large numbers of people seeking to charge vehicles at the same time.
THE FUTURE IS Electrical?
While many automakers may find it hard to countenance the end of the combustion engine, some have embraced a future where electrical vehicles, or perhaps even driverless ones, prevail.
This month, Volvo became the very first major traditional automaker to set a date for phasing out vehicles powered solely by the internal combustion engine by telling all its car models launched after two thousand nineteen would be electrical or hybrids.
Related Coverage
Renault-Nissan in two thousand nine announced plans to spend four billion euros on electrical car development.
But until Volkswagen (VW) admitted in two thousand fifteen to cheating on U.S. diesel emissions tests, most mainstream auto manufacturers had been slow to submerge serious investment into battery cars.
The backlash against diesel, without which carmakers would fight to meet CO2 targets, has since refocused minds and produced a flurry of fresh commitments.
VW itself unveiled ambitious plans last year to roll out thirty fresh battery-powered models that it expects to account for 2-3 million annual sales by two thousand twenty five – or as much as twenty five percent of its vehicle production.
«Even tho’ modern combustion engines will be relevant for at least another twenty years, it is clear that the future will be ruled by electrified drives,» VW chief executive Matthias Mueller said earlier this year.
PSA Group boss Carlos Tavares, in the past a vocal defender of diesel technologies, said on Wednesday the French company was ready to embrace mass electrification, provided the required consumer request and government support were there.
«The rise of the electrical vehicle is very much dependent on the subsidies and the support governments will be able to give to this technology,» Tavares told analysts during the company`s first-half results presentation. PSA is planning to roll out fresh pure-electric and plug-in hybrid models from 2019.
Toyota, which pioneered hybrids but long resisted battery-only cars, switched tack last year and has since unveiled plans for a fresh range of pure-electric models.
In Europe, so called ‘green cars` benefit from subsidies, tax violates and other perks, while combustion engines face mounting penalties including driving and parking limitations.
China, fighting with catastrophic pollution levels in major cities, is pushing plug-in vehicles, tho’ in the United States there is much less appetite so far.
Germany, the home of major carmakers such as VW, Daimler and BMW, should soon embark phasing out petrol and diesel too, said Oliver Wittke, a transport experienced in Chancellor Angela Merkel`s Christian Democrats.
But there is likely to be resistance in Europe`s fattest car market. More than 600,000 jobs could be at risk in Germany from a potential ban on combustion engine cars by 2030, the Ifo economic institute said this month in a examine commissioned by Germany`s VDA car industry lobby.
Germany`s major carmakers have invested strenuously in diesel technology, which offers more efficient fuel burn and lower carbon dioxide emissions than gasoline-powered cars.
In response to the British decision, a German government spokeswoman said on Wednesday Merkel had repeatedly warned against «demonizing» diesel vehicles.
A spokesman for VW`s Audi brand, two thirds of whose European sales are diesel cars, said it could make diesel «fit for a future with even more stringent emission standards».
END OF OIL?
Yet Britain`s budge will accelerate the decline of diesel cars, whose nitrogen oxide emissions have been blamed for causing respiratory diseases, in Europe`s 2nd fattest market.
The government will provide more than two hundred fifty million pounds to local authorities for schemes to restrict diesel vehicles` access to polluted roads but said other options should be weakened before charging users of polluting vehicles.
Any limitations or charges for polluting vehicles to use affected roads should be time-limited and lifted as soon as air pollution is within legal boundaries, it added.
Gove said he favored road-by-road limitations for diesel vehicles rather than outright bans from town centers or costly vehicle scrappage schemes, but did not rule them out entirely if they were local authorities` preferred options.
The government also said it would consult later this year on other possible measures including a targeted scrappage scheme.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, of the opposition Labour Party, said the government`s commitment was half-hearted and steps needed to be taken before two thousand forty to tackle air pollution.
«We need a fully-funded diesel scrappage fund now to get polluting vehicles off our streets instantly, as well as fresh powers so that cities across the UK can take the activity needed to clean up our air,» Khan said in a statement.
Turning away from oil will add to discussions about whether the world is reaching peak oil request and how extra electrified power can be generated.
Some companies, including Royal Dutch Shell, expect request to peak as early as by the end of the next decade.
Request for diesel cars fell ten percent in the very first half of the year in Britain while sales of petrol vehicles rose five percent, according to industry data. Sales of electrical and hybrid models rose by almost thirty percent, the fastest growing section of the market albeit from a low base.
Extra reporting by David Milliken, Estelle Shirbon and William Schomberg in London, Laurence Frost in Paris, Andreas Cremer in Berlin and Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Editing by Mark Potter
Electrified cars win? Britain to ban fresh petrol and diesel cars from 2040, Reuters
Electrified cars win? Britain to ban fresh petrol and diesel cars from 2040
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will ban the sale of fresh petrol and diesel cars from two thousand forty in an attempt to reduce air pollution that could herald the end of over a century of reliance on the internal combustion engine.
Britain`s step, which goes after France, amounts to a victory for electrical cars that if copied globally could hit the wealth of oil producers, as well as convert car industry jobs and one of the icons of 20th Century capitalism: the automobile itself.
The mayors of Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have said they plan to ban diesel vehicles from city centers by 2025, while the French government also aims to end the sale of fresh gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040.
The British government has been under pressure to take steps to reduce air pollution after losing legal cases brought by campaign groups. Prime Minister Theresa May`s Conservatives had pledged to make «almost every car and van» zero-emission by 2050.
«There should be no fresh diesel or petrol vehicles by 2040,» environment minister Michael Gove told Big black cock Radio. The ban would only apply to conventional rather than hybrid vehicles that have both an electrical and combustion engine, Gove`s ministry said.
There is a mountain to climb, however.
Electrified cars presently account for less than five percent of fresh car registrations in Britain, with drivers worried about the cost and limited availability of charging points and manufacturers worried about making expensive investments before the request is there.
«We could undermine the UK’s successful automotive sector if we don’t permit enough time for the industry to adjust,» warned Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Hawes said there were only 12,000 public charging points in Britain and fresh power infrastructure would be needed, as well as steps to ensure the power network could cope with large numbers of people seeking to charge vehicles at the same time.
THE FUTURE IS Electrical?
While many automakers may find it hard to countenance the end of the combustion engine, some have embraced a future where electrified vehicles, or perhaps even driverless ones, prevail.
This month, Volvo became the very first major traditional automaker to set a date for phasing out vehicles powered solely by the internal combustion engine by telling all its car models launched after two thousand nineteen would be electrical or hybrids.
Related Coverage
Renault-Nissan in two thousand nine announced plans to spend four billion euros on electrical car development.
But until Volkswagen (VW) admitted in two thousand fifteen to cheating on U.S. diesel emissions tests, most mainstream auto manufacturers had been slow to submerge serious investment into battery cars.
The backlash against diesel, without which carmakers would fight to meet CO2 targets, has since refocused minds and produced a flurry of fresh commitments.
VW itself unveiled ambitious plans last year to roll out thirty fresh battery-powered models that it expects to account for 2-3 million annual sales by two thousand twenty five – or as much as twenty five percent of its vehicle production.
«Even tho’ modern combustion engines will be relevant for at least another twenty years, it is clear that the future will be ruled by electrical drives,» VW chief executive Matthias Mueller said earlier this year.
PSA Group boss Carlos Tavares, in the past a vocal defender of diesel technologies, said on Wednesday the French company was ready to embrace mass electrification, provided the required consumer request and government support were there.
«The rise of the electrified vehicle is very much dependent on the subsidies and the support governments will be able to give to this technology,» Tavares told analysts during the company`s first-half results presentation. PSA is planning to roll out fresh pure-electric and plug-in hybrid models from 2019.
Toyota, which pioneered hybrids but long resisted battery-only cars, switched tack last year and has since unveiled plans for a fresh range of pure-electric models.
In Europe, so called ‘green cars` benefit from subsidies, tax violates and other perks, while combustion engines face mounting penalties including driving and parking confinements.
China, fighting with catastrophic pollution levels in major cities, is pushing plug-in vehicles, tho’ in the United States there is much less appetite so far.
Germany, the home of major carmakers such as VW, Daimler and BMW, should soon begin phasing out petrol and diesel too, said Oliver Wittke, a transport experienced in Chancellor Angela Merkel`s Christian Democrats.
But there is likely to be resistance in Europe`s largest car market. More than 600,000 jobs could be at risk in Germany from a potential ban on combustion engine cars by 2030, the Ifo economic institute said this month in a examine commissioned by Germany`s VDA car industry lobby.
Germany`s major carmakers have invested powerfully in diesel technology, which offers more efficient fuel burn and lower carbon dioxide emissions than gasoline-powered cars.
In response to the British decision, a German government spokeswoman said on Wednesday Merkel had repeatedly warned against «demonizing» diesel vehicles.
A spokesman for VW`s Audi brand, two thirds of whose European sales are diesel cars, said it could make diesel «fit for a future with even more stringent emission standards».
END OF OIL?
Yet Britain`s stir will accelerate the decline of diesel cars, whose nitrogen oxide emissions have been blamed for causing respiratory diseases, in Europe`s 2nd largest market.
The government will provide more than two hundred fifty million pounds to local authorities for schemes to restrict diesel vehicles` access to polluted roads but said other options should be weakened before charging users of polluting vehicles.
Any confinements or charges for polluting vehicles to use affected roads should be time-limited and lifted as soon as air pollution is within legal boundaries, it added.
Gove said he favored road-by-road confinements for diesel vehicles rather than outright bans from town centers or costly vehicle scrappage schemes, but did not rule them out entirely if they were local authorities` preferred options.
The government also said it would consult later this year on other possible measures including a targeted scrappage scheme.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, of the opposition Labour Party, said the government`s commitment was half-hearted and steps needed to be taken before two thousand forty to tackle air pollution.
«We need a fully-funded diesel scrappage fund now to get polluting vehicles off our streets instantaneously, as well as fresh powers so that cities across the UK can take the activity needed to clean up our air,» Khan said in a statement.
Turning away from oil will add to discussions about whether the world is reaching peak oil request and how extra electrified power can be generated.
Some companies, including Royal Dutch Shell, expect request to peak as early as by the end of the next decade.
Request for diesel cars fell ten percent in the very first half of the year in Britain while sales of petrol vehicles rose five percent, according to industry data. Sales of electrical and hybrid models rose by almost thirty percent, the fastest growing section of the market albeit from a low base.
Extra reporting by David Milliken, Estelle Shirbon and William Schomberg in London, Laurence Frost in Paris, Andreas Cremer in Berlin and Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Editing by Mark Potter