The 2030 new petrol and diesel car ban is a half-baked idea that most people don’t want

I’m more convinced than ever that the proposed 2030 ban on the sale of new ICE-powered cars can’t and won’t happen. The idea that these in-demand, factory-fresh personal mobility machines will be officially classed as illegal at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2029 is for the birds.

It’s a half-baked idea that most makers, retailers and consumers didn’t ask for and don’t want. But if today’s car-clueless, motorist-bashing Government (or even the as-yet-unknown next one to be elected by summer ’29) still believes otherwise, I invite it to hold a referendum. It has the names and addresses of Britain’s circa 40 million driving licence holders, so just ask them the most important question of their driving lives: do they want new cars with internal combustion engines to be banned in 2030?

But before they pose that long-overdue question, I’m urging our political ‘leaders’ to look at some of the most recent credible, respected and independent survey results that spell out what car users want, not what politicians think we should or shouldn’t have.

In Europe, just 20 per cent of non-electric car buyers see themselves buying an EV in the next five years, according to this winter’s huge study from Accenture. Shockingly, it says that such consumers don’t expect pure-electric models to be their main car-purchase option until 2048 – 18 years after the proposed date for the UK to dump new ICE cars.

Equally shocking is that German customers, who know and understand a bit about consumer choice, cars, engineering and all things technical, are the most reluctant electric car buyers in the EU, according to the authors of the study, who rightly concede that the anticipated surge in pure-electric car sales has been frustratingly elusive. Also, they’re pleading with makers to improve the retail prices, reliability and range of their EVs.

Closer to home, a new survey from AA Cars says that 54 per cent of drivers want a greener vehicle in 2025. Of those, 30 per cent mentioned mild hybrids, which is no surprise because – as I’ve long argued – they hit the sweet spot for cost, convenience and green-ish credentials. Generally more expensive plug-in hybrids were sought by 14 per cent, while even pricier pure-electric models were preferred by only 10 per cent.

In the showrooms and in surveys, consumers are clearly stating that while they have no issue with EVs as fringe products that will slowly and naturally grow in popularity, for now they overwhelmingly want their mainstream models to be hybrids or pure petrol.

So will the current Government stick with its out-of-touch ‘ban new ICE cars’ policy in the ’29 General Election? Maybe before it answers that question, it should note that, according to a recent Telegraph poll, a new party (Reform) has overtaken Labour – partly because it does not intend to prohibit the sale of such vehicles in 2030.

Do you think the 2030 new petrol and diesel car ban is a good idea? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section...