Britain announces ban on petrol and diesel cars by 2040

It claims to have sold more electric vehicles than any other in the world and has a high-tech battery plant in Sunderland. The soundbites and headlines come more easily that way.

Britain’s government has said the poor air quality has an unnecessary and avoidable negative impact on citizens’ health, and costs up to .5 billion in annual lost productivity.

Some carmakers – Daimler, for instance – have committed to producing diesel-powered vehicles in the years ahead, while others – notably Volvo – plan to sell no cars after 2019 that are exclusively fossil-fuel powered. Norway, which already has the highest percentage of electric vehicles in the world, has instituted a similar policy, though it wants to eliminate gasoline and diesel auto sales by 2025.

A new generation of electric vehicles is set to replace them, and there’s a push for electric cars in NZ too.

Approached if there could be charges for drivers of specific vehicles he stated: “I don’t trust that it is essential… yet we will work with nearby experts keeping in mind the end goal to figure out what the best approach is”. The second is whether the infrastructure can support it. A hybrid vehicle takes 50 percent more time, or up to 9 hours longer, to make than cars with only a combustion engine. Picture this: the limited edition LeFerrari mild hybrid, with an 800-hp petrol engine coupled to a 120-kW electric motor, would supposedly not be subject to the ban, although one could hardly rave about its environmental credentials. For some lifestyles – my own included – they’re already doing this now.

Brokers see price parity between electric and non -electric vehicles as early as next year when Tesla’s ramp-up hits full swing.

Neuvy questioned how the extra electricity would be produced, whether there were enough resources to produce electric batteries, how many charging points would be needed and how the cars would be recycled. They claimed the Government was “kicking the can down the road”.

Then there’s the energy production itself. But emissions from the fuel are between eight and 10 times more toxic, according to Stephen Holgate, medical research professor at the University of Southampton and special adviser on air quality at the Royal College of Physicians.

And VW has tried to save itself by turning to electric cars, in this introducing about two dozen electric vehicles in the coming years. It’s just that unfortunately, it costs twice as much as the petrol models.

Researchers have created the first global inventory of the emissions pumped out by cars and trucks on the road, over and above the legal limits which are monitored by lab-based tests. However, action is still required to address the most disproportionate polluters, such as the UK’s 84,000 diesel transport refrigeration units, which should be phased out over the next five years. Let us know in the comments section below.