Half of new cars to be ultra low emission by 2030 as Government releases Road to Zero Strategy

The Government has published its much anticipated ‘Road to Zero Strategy’, which includes an ambition to see at least half of new cars to be ultra-low emission by 2030, ahead of ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040.

The report sets out 46 measures to boost the take-up of low emission vehicles including reforming vehicle excise duty, ensuring new build houses are equipped with charging points, investing £400m into improving EV infrastructure and ensuring local planning policies incorporate facilities for charging electric vehicles via the National Planning Policy Framework.

The report estimates the global market for low emission vehicles could be worth £1.0–2.0 trillion per year by 2030, and £3.6– 7.6 trillion per year by 2050.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: ‘The coming decades are going to be transformative for our motor industry, our national infrastructure and the way we travel. We expect to see more change in the transport sector over the next 10 years than we have in the previous century.

‘We are expecting our economy and society to experience profound change, which is why we have marked the Future of mobility as one of the 4 grand challenges as part of our modern Industrial Strategy.

‘The Road to Zero Strategy sets out a clear path for Britain to be a world leader in the zero emission revolution – ensuring that the UK has cleaner air, a better environment and a stronger economy.’

Lord Deben, Chairman of the Committee on Climate Change, bemoaned ‘missed opportunities’ in the report, saying: ‘Overall, Road to Zero falls short of our expectations. The Committee had hoped for a ground-breaking Strategy to tackle emissions from transport – now the most polluting sector of the UK economy.

‘Road to Zero has not risen to the task. We commend the ambition to ramp up the number of electric vehicles on our roads by 2030, and the new charging infrastructure in homes and streets, but there are plenty of missed opportunities too. Relying on the private sector to effect the shift to zero-emission vehicles by 2040 is risky – we had hoped for greater clarity on Government actions to back this up and to ensure plug-in hybrids sold in the UK travel further in electric mode on a single charge.’

Read the full report here.