Keir Starmer has reinstated a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars as part of a major speech this afternoon. The ban had previously been extended to 2035 under the previous Conservative government, but the Prime Minister today confirmed he is bringing it back to the original 2030 deadline.
Hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars will be allowed to be sold until 2035, as will petrol, diesel and hybrid vans. Luxury supercar firms such as Aston Martin and McLaren will still be allowed to keep producing petrol cars beyond the 2030 date, because they only manufacture a small number of vehicles per year.
The Government will also relax rules that see manufacturers fined if they don’t meet sales targets, and these penalties will also be reduced. Under current rules, manufacturers must ensure 28% of new cars sold are electric – and there is a fine of £15,000 for every vehicle that does not meet the latest emissions standards.
This is being reduced to £12,000 per vehicle. Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show uptake of pure battery electric new cars reached 382,000 units last year.
It comes after US President Donald Trump imposed a 25% levy on cars imported to the US, which is the second-biggest importer of British-made cars, after the European Union. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander today said the new rules come after a consultation that started at the end of last year, and are not in response to the US tariffs.
She told LBC: “So, the consultation on the zero-emission vehicles mandate started on Christmas eve, and it closed in the middle of February, and so we were always planning to bring forward our response in April as a government.
“Obviously what happened last week with the imposition of global tariffs by the US administration has meant that we have looked at this with renewed urgency in the last week, because, if you think about businesses like Jaguar Land Rover, their business planning has really been thrown up into the air given the amount of cars they export to the US.”
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Yes, you will still be able to drive petrol and diesel vehicles after 2030. The ban only applies to the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles – so manufacturers just can’t make any new petrol or diesel vehicles after this date. You will still be able to buy second-hand petrol and diesel vehicles after 2030.
Yes, there will still be petrol stations after 2030 as you’ll still be able to buy used petrol and diesel vehicles. Petrol stations will likely just have more charging points once the ban is in place.
We don’t know for sure. According to the AA, car parts will still be readily available in 2030. There will still be used cars available to purchase and hybrids will still have a fuel tank.
A major sticking point for many drivers who are considering going electric, is the lack of charging points available. The UK has a target of 300,000 charge point installations by 2030, but the Government spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, said there is still a regional divide with some areas missing out.
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