UK Governement to ‘lead from the front’ on zero-emission cars
Sky News report that the prime minister is to announce various eco led commitments to change the face of driving in the UK
Theresa May has announced that the UK will boost funding for research and development of zero-emission vehicles by £106m.
“I want to see Britain, once again, leading from the front and working with industries and countries around the world to spearhead change,” she will say.
“That is why I have set this country an ambitious mission. To put the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles and for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero-emission by 2040.”
Her eventual target is for all cars and vans to be zero emission by 2050.
But is this realistic? There is no doubt that interest in EVs (Electric Vehicles) has taken a huge jump, however there is still a significant different in cost vs their petrol or diesel cousins.
It will also be interesting to see how the electric grid will cope with this huge increase in consumption.
We’ve seen a slow and steady growth of EV charging points in high footfall areas such as shopping centres and supermarkets, but this would need to be accelerated considerably to cater for the increase in demand.
Even if this can all be achieved, what’s in store for our second hand cars and classics? Will there be some form of exemption or even an elaborate conversion?
There is little doubt that EVs will become more and more popular, but it’s a long road ahead before the country can forget about the petrol pumps!
To read the full report from Sky News, check out their website – here