EU To Postpone Petrol Car Ban to 2040
EU car industry successfully lobbies to push back all-electric targets amid mounting backlash. Labour has been urged to delay a ban on petrol and diesel cars as Brussels reportedly prepares to push back its own deadline by five years.
Ministers have been warned that sticking with the current 2030 ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles would be disastrous were the EU to extend its deadline to go all-electric to 2040.
The Sunday Times reported that carmakers have had confirmation that the Brussels ban will be pushed back from its current date of 2035, citing Tim Tozer, UK chairman of insurer and roadside assistance firm Allianz Partners, and unnamed executives.
Andy Palmer, the former chief executive of Aston Martin, told the Telegraph a shift in the EU ban to 2040 was “seemingly inevitable” given the strength of lobbying.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has faced pressure from Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, and leaders of other countries with large car industries to ease off on the clampdown.
A delay would allow petrol cars to be sold across the EU for 10 years longer than in the UK, creating headaches for manufacturers.
While British plants export three-quarters of their cars, with Europe the biggest market, manufacturers will still be bound to Britain’s strict electric vehicle (EV) targets, suggesting they will have to run twin manufacturing lines to meet demand both at home and abroad.
Full story here.
That last paragraph is especially relevant.
If UK manufacturers have to switch their production lines to EVs, they are going to miss out on exports to Europe. It is likely that some will simply carry on exporting ICE cars to Europe, and not bother making EVs at all.
It is also revealing that the dreadful SMMT organisation has not called for the UK ban to be postponed. Instead they seem intent on slavishly supporting government policy, regardless of its damage to the UK.
source notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com
Herb Rose
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The IC cars will still be around in 2040. Let’s hope the EU will not.
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DouweH
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The UK really has earned the title – Run By Dumbfucks”
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very old white guy
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In 2040 they will not be able to do it either. Their level of stupid should be painful to them, not others.
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Uribo
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It is misleading that the EV fanatics always talk about “electric vehicles”. There is of course nothing wrong with “electric vehicles”, as long as they have an overhead power supply. That is why we have electric trains and electric subways. The problem is that these demagogues mean BATTERY cars. And that, of course, is insane, as there is no efficient way way to store electricity. That is why we do not have battery trains and battery subways. A little clarity in language would be nice…
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