InstaVolt welcomes Government plans to ban sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2040

InstaVolt has broadly welcomed the Government’s plans to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol cars in the UK from 2040.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove says the move is part of a plan to get these vehicles off roads altogether by 2050 – with cleaner electric or other zero emission cars taking their place.

The announcement comes a day after the German automotive giant BMW said it will build an all-electric version of the Mini in the UK. BMW said a fully electric “Mini E” will roll off the production at its Oxford plant lines, which is the historic home of the iconic car, from 2019.

The electric Mini is predicted to be a huge seller for BMW and the company expects that, by 2025, between 15pc and 25pc of the cars it sells each year will be electrically powered.

Tim Payne, InstaVolt’s CEO, said: “The announcements by the Government and BMW add to the growing momentum for the electrification of driving in the UK. We recognise, though, that this will be a slow process taking many years. A collapse of the internal combustion market overnight is in no one’s interest rather we would prefer a controlled evolution which will be much more sustainable for both the consumer and the industry. Our mission at InstaVolt is to place rapid chargers in strategic public locations such as garage forecourts and motorway services. That way people will be much more confident in buying and driving electric vehicles.”

The Government is going to make £255m available to local authorities so they can restrict diesel car use on polluted roads, improve public transport and change road layouts. Under the plan, local councils could bring in charging zones for the dirtiest vehicles.

From 2020, new pollution taxes will also be levied on diesel drivers who use congested highways – specifically targeting busy roads in major towns and cities, as well as motorways such as the M4 and M32. The Government has identified 81 major roads in 17 towns and cities where it says urgent action is required because they are in breach of EU emissions standards, putting people’s health at risk.

The new strategy urges local authorities to attempt to reduce emissions at first by fitting the most polluting diesel vehicles with filters, changing road layouts and removing speed humps. Tough levies on the most polluting diesel vehicles could be imposed as soon as 2020 as a last resort to help bring down the levels of harmful nitrogen dioxide emissions.