The Government has announced that the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel engined cars will now be 2035 rather than 2030.
Only in July this year, Cabinet minister Michael Gove had insisted that the 2030 deadline was “immovable”.
Yet, some eight weeks later, the deadline move has been confirmed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The chair of the Association of Fleet Professionals, Paul Hollick, said fleets had made exceptional progress in electrification, but it felt that “the can has been kicked down the road in a fairly arbitrary fashion by a government that sees this move as politically expedient”.
There was no mention of the impact of this decision on climate change or air quality, but it does align the UK with the European deadline for the banning of sales of new diesel and petrol cars.
“This decision can only be seen as a retrograde step,” commented Mike Manners. “It’s certainly highly irritating and some fleets may feel strong-armed into electrification only for the goalposts to move.
“Nevertheless, electric vehicles will continue to play an important role for fleets, both as company cars and as the choice for salary sacrifice takers, with significant tax breaks at their disposal.”
The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) says that the company-provided car market is leading the way on electric vehicles, with the leasing sector driving uptake of new zero-emission vehicles: 53% of new cars are EVs.
The BVRLA added that the performance was bolstered by the popularity of salary sacrifice schemes, which were making electric vehicles more affordable to those on lower incomes and which also eliminated the need for a costly initial rental payment.
“We’re on the cusp of making real headway in our transition to net zero tailpipe emissions for road transport and this is key to improved air quality and health outcomes. Both industry and the driving community need certainty; businesses are investing heavily in electric car production, EV charging infrastructure, skills and training, and the supply chain. Now is the time to double down on our efforts, rather than steering away from our commitment to decarbonising road transport,” commented Gill Nowell, Head of EV Communications at our partner LV= ElectriX.
No change to ZEV mandate so EV availability will remain
However, while the banning of new petrol and diesel vehicles has been delayed, the Government’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate has not been altered (see our story here). The ZEV requires car makers to hit an increasingly higher percentage of zero emission car sales, starting January 2024. In the first year, 22% of all car sales must be zero emission.
“This will keep the pressure on supply and may even help lower EV prices in the future as manufacturers attempt to meet the target. So while yesterday’s announcement was extremely frustrating, I can’t see it making a huge difference to fleet electrification, particularly with companies needing to meet Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies.
“We will, as always, be on hand to support those fleets wanting to transition, providing our extensive expertise in the area of fleet electrification and the provision of salary sacrifice,” added Mike Manners.
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