Three in five new cars must be electric by 2030 for the UK to meet emissions targets, ministers are warned
- Committee for Climate Change says 60% of new cars in 2030 need to be electric
- It also called for more detail about plans to ban petrol and diesel sales in 2040
- Industry insiders claim the UK is 'on course' to meet the 2030 objective
- However, some fear the new target will further paralyse new car sales in the UK
The majority of new cars bought in the UK by 2030 must be electric-powered to achieve strict greenhouse gas emissions objectives, a new report has warned.
The Committee for Climate Change warned ministers that three in every five vehicles purchased in 12 years' time will need to be low-emissions models if the Government is serious about meeting legally-binding carbon targets.
Just 3.3 per cent of all new cars registered in 2017 were electric or a hybrids, though industry insiders remain confident that the nation is 'on course' to meet the CCC's 2030 deadline.
Electric drive: The Committee for Climate Change said 60% of all new cars and vans bought in 2030 will need to be electric - like those pictured above - in order to meet emissions targets
The climate watchdog said on Wednesday that homes will also need to be built to a higher standard in order to meet the targets, saying that the Clean Growth Strategy 'must be translated urgently into action'.
The report did highlight that the UK has made good progress in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions since the Climate Change Act was passed in 2008, with emissions falling by 42 per cent between 1990 and 2016 - faster than the average rate of reduction in the G7.
However, the it warned that the nation will fall short of its ambitions unless ministers do more to turn pledges into reality.
One of these promises is the commitment to ban all purely petrol and diesel new car sales in 2040, as announced in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Air Quality Plan last July.
The Government's climate change adviser demanded more detail on these plans for the targets to be met.
CCC chairman, Lord Deben, said: 'The Clean Growth Strategy is ambitious in its aims to build a thriving low-carbon Britain but ambitions alone are not enough.
'As it stands, the Strategy does not deliver enough action to meet the UK’s emissions targets in the 2020s and 2030s.
'The Government’s policies and proposals will need to be firmed up as a matter of urgency – and supplemented with additional measures – if the UK is to deliver on its legal commitments and secure its position as an international climate change leader.'
The CCC said the government needs to 'firm up' plans linked to emissions reductions, such as the committment to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles announced as part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Air Quality Plan
Just 3% of all new cars registered in the UK last year were alternative fuel vehicles powered by pure-electric or hybrid powertrains, according to the SMMT
While just three in 100 new cars sold in the UK last year were alternative fuel models, according to the SMMT, industry insiders say the country is 'already on course' to meet the target for three-fifths of new vehicles to be electric by 2030.
Chargemaster, the UK’s largest provider of electric vehicle chargers, estimates that there will be one million electric cars in the UK by the end of 2022, accounting for around 10 per cent of all new registrations.
That would be a rapid rise from the state of play currently, with just 119,821 electric, plug-in hybrid and conventional hybrid cars registered last term.
Extended forecasts by the charge-post provider also suggest that nearly one in four new vehicles will be electric by 2025, with plug-in cars making up around half of all registrations by 2027 and 60 per cent three years' later - meeting the CCC's demands.
It added that the 'current trajectory' on electric-car sales indicated that it is 'likely' that virtually every car on UK roads will be a zero-emissions vehicle by 2040.
David Martell, chief executive of Chargemaster, said: 'The key driver of the electric car market over the next five years will be consumer choice, with more than 30 new electric cars coming to market by 2020.
'Indeed, within the next year, we will see models including the new Nissan Leaf, Jaguar I-Pace, Mini Electric, Ford Transit Plug-in Hybrid and Tesla Model 3 in the UK.
'The number of electric cars on UK roads has grown significantly over the last five years, from just over 3,000 in 2012 to more than 130,000 today.
'New electric car registrations will grow by about one third in 2018, while we expect our deployment of new charging infrastructure to double – more than keeping pace with the car market.'
Electric charge point provider Chargemaster said it estimates that the current growth in sales of plug-in cars is on target to meet the 2030 instruction from the CCC
However, the CCC's report has been met with criticism by others within the automotive sector.
James Hind, CEO of car buying site carwow, said Wednesday's announcement will confuse motorists and 'serve only to further paralyse sales'.
'Advice from the Committee is being presented like a policy change, when in fact the 2040 deadline remains in place,' Mr Hind said.
'We know from reports across the industry that consumers are keeping their hands in their pockets until guidance is clearer on both traditional and alternatively fuelled vehicles.
'That said, we know the desire from motorists is there for a 2030 cut off to switch to cleaner, more sustainable fuel sources - 18 per cent of car owners are looking to go electric or hybrid in the next two years.
'Yet the UK - with just 14,340 charging points - is nowhere near ready to embrace the anticipated demand from 5 million extra electric or hybrid cars.'
The Carwow boss added that the industry and dealers are already doing all they can to promote low-emissions vehicles to drivers, such as scrappage schemes that are being funded by manufacturers rather than the government.
Rank | Region | Cars per connector | Licensed plug-in cars | Total locations | Slow chargers | Fast chargers | Rapid chargers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Scotland | 2.97 | 5,995 | 775 | 134 | 1,318 | 564 |
2nd | North East England | 3.17 | 2,524 | 303 | 101 | 546 | 122 |
3rd | Northern Ireland | 3.46 | 1,610 | 229 | 14 | 414 | 37 |
4th | Greater London | 3.9 | 11,097 | 654 | 995 | 1,740 | 106 |
5th | Wales | 5.65 | 2,365 | 220 | 120 | 246 | 52 |
6th | North West England | 6.44 | 6,176 | 372 | 127 | 664 | 167 |
7th | East Midlands | 9.62 | 5,725 | 208 | 190 | 332 | 73 |
8th | South West England | 10.64 | 11,863 | 478 | 220 | 686 | 208 |
9th | Yorkshire and Humber | 10.81 | 7,236 | 276 | 104 | 450 | 115 |
10th | South East England | 12.25 | 21,950 | 613 | 327 | 1,034 | 430 |
11th | East of England | 18.76 | 17,303 | 376 | 181 | 612 | 129 |
12th | West Midlands | 21.98 | 16,271 | 290 | 138 | 472 | 150 |
Isle of Man | N/A | N/A | 10 | 23 | 18 | 0 | |
Source: Auto Express and ZapMap |
New figures released earlier this month showed that just one new public charge point was installed for every 15 plug-in car sold in the UK last year
'If the infrastructure isn’t there, it won’t matter how much information dealers provide about alternatively fuelled vehicles - motorists don’t have the confidence to embrace an electric revolution,' he said.
'We really need the Government to confirm when the £400 million they pledged for electric charging infrastructure will be a reality.'
Motoring title Auto Express' figures revealed earlier this month that just 3,178 new public plug-in points of varying charge speeds were installed in 2017 - to a network already considered to be lagging behind where it should be.
That compared to the 46,522 new plug-in vehicles registered in the country, according to Go Ultra Low.
That works out at around 15 new cars to every new public charger.
The West Midlands saw the fewest public installations in 2017, with just 290 charging posts installed.
In contrast, Scotland had 775 new public chargers installed in 2017 through the ChargePlace Scotland scheme.
Most watched Money videos
- German car giant BMW has released the X2 and it has gone electric!
- Dacia Spring is Britain's cheapest EV at under £15,000
- Would you retire abroad for cheaper living costs?
- MG unveils new MG3 - Britain's cheapest full-hybrid car
- Iconic Dodge Charger goes electric as company unveils its Daytona
- Aston Martin unveils new Vantage sports car capable of 202mph
- Pair of rare 1980s Ford Sierra RS500 Coswotths head to auction
- Mini unveil an electrified version of their popular Countryman
- The new Volkswagen Passat - a long range PHEV that's only available as an estate
- Steve McQueen featured driving famous stunt car in 'The Hunter'
- BMW's Vision Neue Klasse X unveils its sports activity vehicle future
- Skoda reveals Skoda Epiq as part of an all-electric car portfolio
- Disgraced crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25...
- JD Sports boss fires out at Nike for failing to produce...
- Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton ends his pursuit of the...
- No one should expect sympathy when the crypto bubble...
- Insurers are STILL stinging drivers by undervaluing...
- My friends say I'm a shopaholic but I'm 34, single and...
- Celebrity skincare favourites help boost sales at Boots...
- MARKET REPORT: North Sea oil producer Enquest posts loss...
- William Hill owner 888 agrees to flog assets as it...
- Bidding war erupts for UK telecoms firm Spirent as...
- Cost of Baltimore bridge disaster will run into multi...
- Interest rate cuts still 'a long way off' despite falling...
- Nearly half of young people don't realise buy now, pay...
- The turning of the tide for luxury e-commerce? Shoppers...
- My blood boils when I hear critics say Waspi women should...
- Dividend hero SAINT's manager on the best shares for...
- Legal firm representing St James's Place customers to...
- AO World shares surge as online retailer electronics...