Could the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles really become obsolete in eight years?

InstaVolt Chairman Adrian Pike appeared on BBC Radio Berkshire this week to give his take on the prediction that no more petrol or diesel cars, buses or trucks will be sold anywhere in the world within eight years.

The bold estimate, from Professor Tony Seba at Stanford University, hit the headlines this week following the publication of his report ‘Rethinking Transportation 2020-2030’.

Within the paper the American economist claimed that the entire market for land transport will switch to electrification, leading to a collapse of oil prices and the demise of the petroleum industry as we have known it for a century.

Speaking to BBC Radio Berkshire presenter Sarah Greene about the prediction Adrian said: “I think it’s a very ambitious target. We’ve got 30 million cars on the road today and the UK generally purchases 2.5 million a year. If we all switch to buying electric today that transition would take 10-12 years. I think the direction of travel is there but what the public will need is a variety of vehicles with good battery range and access to quick and easy charging through rapid chargers like InstaVolt’s.”

Adrian says that while Professor Seba’s estimate is probably over ambitious, he hopes that electric cars, buses and trucks will make up a significant portion of vehicles on the road in the next two decades.

“Air quality has reached critical levels in cities across the UK and cars, buses and lorries have been proven as contributing significantly to the problem,” he added. “My hope is that with companies like ours making the country an easier place to recharge, sales of EVs will increase and start to replace their polluting counterparts on the road.”

It’s not the first time InstaVolt has been asked to give its take on industry issues by the BBC. Earlier this year it featured on Sunday Politics talking about the future of electric vehicles and charging.

Listen again to Adrian’s interview on BBC Radio Berkshire here. Skip ahead to just after 38.00 minutes into the programme.