So when will you have to switch to an electric car? Everything you need to know

Electric cars must make up a fifth of sales from next year under strict new proposals, it has been revealed.

The government announced a net-zero strategy on Thursday to curb carbon emissions and bolster energy security as gas bills are set to rise.

This follows the green tax on the polluting fuel, which is enforced by the government as an environmental tax on the energy bill.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled ‘Powering Up Britain – The Net Zero Growth Plan’, saying the plan is vital to ‘lower energy prices’, ‘grow our economy’ and reduce emissions to zero by 2050 to take.

The proposed update to the government targets means that 22% of all cars sold in 2024 should be battery-powered, rather than petrol or diesel – an increase from 17%.

So here’s what the proposal means for households and manufacturers, and what the targets are for years to come.

The rise of electric vehicles in Britain

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), UK car production rose 13.1% in February this year to 69,707 units.

While volumes for vehicles are always on the rise, production of battery-powered hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles is booming in 2023, rising 72.2% – accounting for two out of every five cars produced in the month.

And they have predicted that nearly 500,000 new hybrid and electric cars will hit UK roads this year.

While February has traditionally been a slow sales period — following the new plate change in March — SMMT predicts EV sales will continue to support overall automotive growth.

And there is a marked increase in demand for EVs, despite the affordability and access to charging for these types of vehicles.

The good news for Brits is that the cost of buying a second-hand EV is falling, compared to buying a used car listed on Auto Trader, which is accelerating again.

The company says ‘average growth in used car sales prices is being held back by the continued contraction in the value of used EVs’, which fell 13 per cent year on year to £33,060 in March.

By contrast, the average price of a used petrol (£16,102) and diesel car (£16,236) is up 4.3 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively.

But as the clock ticks towards the ban on new petrol and diesel car sales by 2030, households and Britons should start looking to trade in their older cars for something more modern and cleaner for the environment.

What does the Powering Up Britain plan mean for Britons and manufacturers?

Manufacturers will be fined £15,000 for any car they don’t sell within limits, under the plan set out in the Department for Transport’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate unveiled yesterday.

But manufacturers selling less than 2,500 cars a year will be exempt from the targets until 2029.

And if they think they’re going to miss their targets, a credit-based system will allow manufacturers to trade EV tokens among themselves.

But all new cars must be electric or hybrid by 2030, and 100% electric by 2035 according to current plans.

And for households looking to buy a new car, ministers have pledged to ban the sale of new pure petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

This means that by then all cars must be electric or hybrid.

Hybrid vehicles will be given a stay of execution until 2035 before being banned as they have ‘significant zero-emissions capabilities’.

In February 2023, electric cars accounted for 16.5% of all new car registrations.

And more than 265,000 battery electric cars will be registered in 2022, a growth of 40% compared to 2021, according to ZapMap.

And for van drivers, the government wants to see a 10% EV mix among manufacturers by 2024, rising to 70% by 2030.

However, Thursday’s announcement made no mention of following the EU’s proposals to run vehicles on e-fuels after 2035.

To qualify as a ‘ZEV’ or zero-emissions vehicle – the term the government uses – the government said that cars must ’emit no CO2 at the exhaust’ and have a ‘minimum range of 200 kilometers’.

What are the objectives for 2035 and beyond?

Four out of every five miles driven by 2035 will have to be covered by electric vehicles if the government is to meet its most ambitious decarbonisation targets, The Telegraph revealed this year.

However, the question remains whether the ambitions for 2050 are feasible.

This is because experts say there are a number of hurdles standing in the way of people switching to electric – including supply chain issues, lack of chargers and costs.

The government reaffirmed its plan to introduce a ZEV mandate from 2040 to help meet the 2030 and 2035 targets as part of its Net Zero strategy. The mandate will set annual targets for the percentage of manufacturers’ new car and van sales to be zero-emission by 2024.

And to support this, the government has several schemes to support the delivery of charging infrastructure, including to people’s homes and workplaces.

What do the experts say about the Powering Up Britain plan?

A spokesman for the Department for Transport (DfT) said: ‘E-fuels are not a proven technology, have expensive and complex supply chains and emit many of the same pollutants as petrol and diesel. They can play a role for specialized vehicles, but we don’t consider them a solution for normal cars and vans.

“We remain committed to helping people switch to electric vehicles, having invested £2bn so far, ending sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and ensuring that all new cars and vans are zero-emissions by 2035. are.’

Commenting on today’s news, Mike Hawes, CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: “While the proposals rightly reflect the diversity of the industry, late publication and lack of regulatory certainty make product planning nearly impossible, and the continued lack of clarity about which technologies will be allowed after 2030 undermines efforts to secure investments.’

Thom Groot, chief executive of the Electric Car Scheme, which runs salary sacrifice schemes to boost EV use, said he is “seriously concerned” that the ZEV mandate remains “for consultation”.

He describes it as an “essential tool” for outlining the transition to electric vehicles towards 2024.

“Transport is our biggest source of emissions and new fossil fuel cars still outsell electric cars – we can’t argue forever,” Groot said.

“The auto industry needs those ZEV mandates for 2024 and beyond now, not subject to change at a minister’s whim, so it can plan supplies accordingly.

Postponing this issue for another consultation will only add to the uncertainty and allow car companies to delay crucial decisions for next year’s fleet.

“My company has huge demand from people desperate to get into an electric car and have to wait because supply is low – a guaranteed amount of supply would help a lot.”

Kim Royds, EV director at British Gas, added that the ‘consultation announcement confirms the government’s commitment to introducing the mandate next year.

“But the devil is in the details, with just nine months to go before it comes into effect, drivers and manufacturers need clarity to understand how the plan will work.”