The Government plans to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2035 at the latest – five years earlier than previously announced – to further crackdown on emissions and will include plug-in hybrid vehicles in the ban.
Enthusiasm among fleets to operate electric vans is being hampered by constraints that require Government intervention, according to the Freight Transport Association (FTA).
Confusion around carbon dioxide (CO2) emission figures relating to modified vans following introduction of the Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) protocol has led to Government clarification.
Leaving the full beam on was rated the second most annoying driving habit, followed by driving at 10 mph below the sign posted speed limit.
Calls have been made for Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid to scrap VAT on the sale of electric cars in the forthcoming Budget.
Fleets can expect fuel prices to rise by at least 2p a litre in the coming days and possibly by as much as 6p or 7p in light of the current crisis in the Gulf, the world’s major oil producing region.
Two of the UK’s best known cities are pushing forward with radical places to improve air quality that will see the nation’s first Zero Emission Zone launched in one location and a complete ban on “all non-essential private car journeys” in another.
Fleet chiefs have been warned that maintaining vehicle downtime at ‘acceptable levels’ will be a major challenge in 2020 with workshop capacity under pressure and increasing vehicle complexity proving to be a challenge for technicians.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been told to ‘phase-out’ the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030 by the UK’s official climate watchdog – 10 years earlier than the previous Conservative-led Government’s scheduled date.