Britain Set to Introduce Ban on New Non-Electric Car Sales in 2035

author: Vineeth Joel Patel   

Britain has some dramatic plans in place for its future. In the country's "Air Quality Plan," the U.K. announced that it wanted to end the sale of vehicles with internal combustion engines, including gasoline- and diesel-powered cars, by 2040. The dramatic goal was announced as the country looks to get on top of surging fuel prices and the ever-increasing rate of air pollution. When we first heard about the goal, we thought it was dramatic. If anything, the country would probably use it as an extremely rough timeline. But it looks like Britain was serious and is doubling down on its plan.

Ban Coming Five Years Early

According to a report by Reuters, Britain is sticking with its plan of banning vehicles that are powered by fuel, but is now moving its timeline up by five years. And while the country's original plan called for "conventional car and van sales" to come to an end by 2040, the outlet reports that the ban now includes hybrids.

The outlet claims that Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to use the announcement of the new timeline to boost the country's environmental credentials. Johnson recently fired the head of a Glasgow U.N. Climate Change Conference called COP26 that was set to take place in November.

"We have to deal with our CO2 emissions," said Johnson. "As a country and as a society, as a planet, as a species, we must now act."

Other Countries Also Have Proposed Bans

The country's ban on gasoline, diesel, and hybrid vehicles on the road after 2035 doesn't mean that an all-out ban on what can be driven on roads. Instead, the ban is just on what vehicles can be sold as new in the country. After all, it wouldn't be very fair to allow people to buy a new car in 2024 and then expect them to turn the keys in after just a year of ownership. After 2035, only electric vehicles will be able to be sold as new cars in the country.

As Reuters points out, Britain isn't the only country to have a radical plan in place to combat regulations. Paris, France; Madrid, Spain; Mexico City, Mexico; Denmark; and Athens, Greece all plan to ban vehicles with diesel engines from entering their respective city centers by 2025. France is taking a similar route to Britain by planning to set a ban on the sale of gasoline- and diesel-powered cars by 2040.

Numerous automakers are planning to shift toward electric vehicles in a mad dash, but this decision would still wreak havoc on Britain's auto industry. The outlet reports that gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles still account for 90 percent of sales in the country. Demand for electric vehicles may be increasing in the U.K., but it's nowhere good enough to replace conventional cars yet.

Vineeth Joel Patel

Joel Patel has been covering all aspects of the automotive industry for four years as an editor and freelance writer for various websites. When it comes to cars, he enjoys covering the merger between technology and cars. In his spare time, Joel likes to watch baseball, work on his car, and try new foods