Juliet Davenport: If you are a car company executive looking to get ahead of the competition in electric vehicles, where would you choose to open a new factory? Forecasts for the growth in electric vehicles have been repeatedly revised upwards as the pace of change has taken industry analysts by surprise. Bloomberg NEF’s latest predictions now put 530 million electric vehicles on the road by 2040, up from 400 million the year before. While this is the higher end of the scale, other bodies, such as the IEA and BP, have similarly been forced to increase their figures. It’s clear where the direction of travel is headed, and some countries have been quick to establish a foothold in what will soon become a huge global market. The UK government has shown some signs of wanting to capitalise on this opportunity. It has committed to investing £1.5bn in ultra-low emission vehicles by 2020, including £400m in new charging infrastructure. Its proposed plan to ban all petrol and diesel cars is welcome, but a delayed deadline of 2040 is too far away, and provides insufficient detail on how we will get there. Similarly, last year’s Road to Zero strategy targets 50 per cent of all new cars to be ultra-low emission by 2030, and a modest 40 per cent of new vans. Following on from this strategy, the Department for Transport decided to scrap all grants for new plug-in hybrids and reduce the discounts available for purchasing all-electric cars. This isn’t exactly the kind of grand vision needed to put Britain ‘at the forefront of a global revolution’, as the government desires, nor will it usher in large-scale investment from companies like Honda. Despite this, the government is heavily relying on the private sector to help achieve its aims for the automobile industry.
Business Green 22nd Feb 2019 read more »
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has today officially launched a £23m diesel scrappage scheme designed to help small businesses and charities prepare for the introduction of the capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and switch to cleaner vehicles. The ULEZ comes into effect in central London in six weeks’ time and in a bid to tackle dangerous levels of air pollution in the city will see older, polluting diesel and petrol vehicles face a daily charge for entering the zone.
Business Green 23rd Feb 2019 read more »
