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Page added on May 4, 2018
UK to ban most hybrid cars, including Prius, from 2040
Hybrid cars that rely on traditional engines, such as the Toyota Prius, would be banned by 2040 under plans being drawn up by the UK government that would outlaw up to 98 per cent of the vehicles currently on the road.
Vehicles such as the Prius — the best-selling hybrid car in Britain — will no longer be classified as “environmentally friendly” enough to be sold, according to three people briefed on the government’s plans to tackle emissions and air quality.
The exact wording is still under consultation between several government departments, with the transport, environment and business departments all feeding into the final document.
The plans are backed by Michael Gove, environment secretary, and Greg Clark, business secretary. But Chris Grayling, transport secretary, who has Toyota’s UK headquarters in his constituency, has resisted the plans.
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “It is categorically untrue that government is planning to ban the sale of hybrid cars in the UK by 2040.”
Last July, the government outlined plans to ban the sale of “conventional” cars from 2040.
The vague wording caused considerable confusion among carmakers, because it was unclear whether cars that use both batteries and traditional engines would be permitted.
The new document aims to clarify the government’s position, and outline how it intends to grow public demand for electric vehicles in the interim years.
Three people involved in the decision said only vehicles that can travel at least 50 miles using only electric power will be permitted under the new rules.
The change in rules will outlaw more than 98 per cent of the vehicles currently sold in Britain and will require manufacturers to switch to vehicles predominantly driven by batteries, though they may have petrol engines for back-up or support.
Plug-in cars that have both large batteries and a traditional engine will also be permitted, although the exact wording is yet to be clarified, according to four people briefed on the government’s plans.
There are several types of hybrid vehicles, from Toyota Prius cars, which use electric power and petrol simultaneously, to plug-in vehicles that can travel for significant distances on battery power alone.
New car sales in Britain have fallen 8.8 per cent so far this year, a decline that has led to hundreds of job cuts at Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan, as well as lost work for hundreds of dealerships.
The industry lays the blame for the decline in part on public confusion over the government’s policy around future vehicle bans.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of industry body the SMMT, said: “We cannot support ambition levels which do not appreciate how industry, the consumer or the market operate and which are based neither on fact nor substance.
“Unrealistic targets and misleading messaging on bans will only undermine our efforts to realise this future, confusing consumers and wreaking havoc on the new car market and the thousands of jobs it supports.”
He added: “Vehicle manufacturers will increasingly offer electrified versions of their vehicles giving consumers ever more choice but industry cannot dictate the pace of change nor levels of consumer demand.
“If government wants the UK to be a global leader in zero emission transport it must provide a world class package of incentives and support to make this a credible policy.”
154 Comments on "UK to ban most hybrid cars, including Prius, from 2040"
Cloggie on Sun, 6th May 2018 3:16 am
peak oil is liquids fuel problem. Not an electricity problem. Scotland doesn’t even use oil for electricity. How many millions of times do I have to repeat myself. renewable electricity doesn’t matter, oil powers 90 percent of the worlds transportation and there is no substitutes.
Britain build up the largest empire in world history without a drop of oil, you fool.
Cloggie on Sun, 6th May 2018 2:34 pm
Review “Zero” electro-motor bike:
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/05/06/6-months-of-zero/
Range 300 km, 16 kwh. That’s about 20 km/kwh
Suitable “bad times” replacement for a car.
Darrell Cloud on Mon, 7th May 2018 8:32 am
Clog, just a little back of the napkin history. England launched the industrial revolution on the back of coal. The steam engine was invented to pump water out of coal mines so that the miners could dig deeper to fulfill the insatiable desire for fuel for heating and cooking on an island where the forests belonged to the king. Those that could not get coal used low grade peat for their cooking fires. The iron clads of the civil war made the entire British navy obsolete.
The navy switched to coal fired ships in the empire’s last lunge for greatness. The First World War ended the age of steam. The British Navy transitioned from coal to oil. The British Army embraced the internal combustion engine. Round two of the First World War ended the British Empire and ushered in Pax Americana.
North Sea Oil gave England a momentary reprieve from its inevitable collapse. The process now has resumed and the seat of the empire has now fallen to Muslim invaders. The remnant of what was once England is either fleeing the country or accepting their reduced status on the world stage.
One of the interesting side notes to the end of empire is the observation that as the lock on industrial output declines, the imperial city remains the center of high finance and manipulation for decades while the economy fully transitions from one of production into one of debt. The two remaining options for employment lie in the service sector or in government. Those options remain viable as long as exponential debt creation continues to work its magic and the century’s long conditioning continues to dupe the public into accepting paper promises as money.
Pax Americana began its long descent when crude oil production peaked in 1970. The space program ended. The Vietnam War was lost, the currency was unfettered from the gold standard and the resource wars in the Middle East went into full swing. Industrial cities were hollowed out. The sectors that supplied the war machine continued to flourish. Those cities that specialized in politics, high finance and manipulation and entertainment continued to grow.
America now is enjoying an Indian summer with the shale oil that has been brought to the consumer through the magic of exponential debt. Just like the British, we are in exponential decline. The full impact of that decline will not be felt until the paper promises fail.
Oil kept some elements of the British economy afloat through the last half of the twentieth century. It is very difficult to run Spitfires and Harriers on battery power.
Duncan Idaho on Mon, 7th May 2018 8:39 am
“America now is enjoying an Indian summer with the shale oil that has been brought to the consumer through the magic of exponential debt. Just like the British, we are in exponential decline. The full impact of that decline will not be felt until the paper promises fail.”
Well said Mr. Cloud