The UK has brought forward its deadline for a ban on the sale of petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans from 2035 to 2030.
It’s a move of particular concern for commercial vehicle operators, according to Logistics UK, which has called for government action to ensure the energy and charging infrastructure is ready to support the switch to electric vehicles.
“With electric vehicles making up only 1% of all vans sold in the UK in 2019, bringing forward the ban on conventionally fuelled cars and vans by a further five years will cause additional difficulty for logistics businesses,” says Denise Beedell, policy manager for vans and urban at Logistics UK. “While the logistics industry remains fully committed to transitioning to zero emission vehicles, with many operators already starting this process, an industry-wide adoption of the policy will only be possible if the government takes urgent action to support the reinforcement of power supply infrastructure required to run electric fleets, as well as introducing a fairer and more equitable way of funding grid reinforcements and energy upgrades.”
According to Beedell, in the current environment if a logistics business does not have sufficient energy supply to power its electric vehicle fleet, they must pay to upgrade the entire local electricity hub themselves, which can cost more than £1million. “This cost is on top of the premium to buy electric vehicles which are more expensive than conventionally powered vehicles; government action is needed to reduce these expenses.”
The organisation also believes that hybrid vehicles should be excluded from the ban since they offer a practical bridging technology.