The government might have officially confirmed that sales of new pure petrol and diesel cars will be banned from 2030 – but only quietly.
Buried within the 170-page Budget published yesterday (Oct 31) under the section titled ‘Net Zero and Clean Energy’, there was the statement: ‘The transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is crucial to decarbonising transport and will support growth and productivity across the UK. There are now more than one million electric cars on our roads.
‘The government has committed to phasing out new cars that rely solely on internal combustion engines by 2030 and that from 2035 all new cars and vans sold in the UK will be zero emission.’
The wording implies that only cars powered exclusively by a petrol and diesel engine (or ICEs – Internal Combustion Engines) will be banned in 2030, while hybrids will be allowed to be sold for another five years before an EV-only new car and van market kicks in.
Last night Auto Trader welcomed the news, saying that the statement confirmed the ban ‘was back’ in ‘black and white’.
‘2030 is officially back,’ Auto Trader said on LinkedIn.
‘Fantastic to see the government highlighting the importance of the electric vehicle transition in the budget today, and even better to see the 2030 date return in black and white.
‘Aligning the ZEV Mandate with the ban on sales of new ICE vehicles aligns consumers and the industry towards a common date which can only be a good thing.’
The Daily Mail also stated that the ICE car ban was back in an article outlining the key announcements from the Autumn Budget.
However, speaking to Car Dealer, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) played down the confirmation and said the paragraph in the Budget was ‘official policy’ and nothing new, adding it was just a repetition of Labour’s pledge in its 2024 election manifesto.
Car Dealer has approached the government and the Department of Transport for clarification.
Rumours around the government bringing forward the ban to 2030 and allowing hybrids to remain on sale until 2035 first broke in September.
At the time, industry figures called for more clarification around which new hybrids would be allowed to be sold to consumers.
It’s unclear if all hybrids – mild, full and plug-in types – will be applicable and whether cars will need to be able to cover a specific driving distance on pure electric power to be allowed to be on sale.
Speaking to Car Dealer, the SMMT spokesperson stated that more clarification around ‘minimum standards’ concerning hybrids was expected, and repeated the organisation’s desire for more private buyer incentives for EVs.
The Budget also detailed how the government plans to support the 2035 transition to the sale of new EVs.
It will splash £200m in 2025-26 on more installing more electric charging points, including funding to support local authorities to instal more on-street chargers.
Also in 2025-25, some £120m will be provided for a plug-in vehicle grant and to build wheelchair accessible EVs.
The government will also ‘maintain tax incentives to purchase electric cars through Vehicle Excise Duty First Year Rates and the Company Car tax regimes’ and extend ‘100% First Year Allowances for electric cars and charge points for a further year’.
Whether the 2030 pure ICE car ban will affect the ZEV mandate – which dictates 80% of new cars sold have to be pure EVs by 2030 – is unclear, but it’s expected the policy and mandate will work hand in hand.
