Nearly half (48%) of businesses who employ drivers are confused by the Government’s plans to stop the sale of new conventionally-powered petrol and diesel cars from 2040.
From 2040 all new cars sold in the UK will have to have zero emissions capability, whether hybrid or pure electric. The Government ban will extend to mild hybrid cars which are not able to run solely on electric power, as they do not have zero emissions capability.
Manufacturers are expected to have moved to offer hybrid and EV versions of their product ranges way before the 2040 deadline, with many companies already outlining their model plans from 2019 onwards.
A new report released by Thecarpeople.co.uk titled ‘diesel impact’ shows many businesses are questioning their vehicle purchases with almost half not fully understanding the 2040 ban.
The report also shows 39% of businesses admitting they are concerned about the impact the proposed combustion engine changes will have on their company finances.
While 1 in 5 actually think the ban will have a positive impact on their work, only 43% of those who have a transport business are planning to train employees to drive/fix/work with hybrid and electric vehicles.
Thecarpeople report shows 45% of business decision makers are concerned about the availability of trained mechanics for hybrid and electric vehicles with their biggest concerns being revealed as accessibility to charging points for electric cars (40%), unknown expenses for car charging (37%) and the possible increase in taxes/charges for driving petrol/diesel vehicles (34%).
The diesel impact report shows the biggest worries around the 2040 plans:
- Finding charging points for an electric car/running out of charge (38%)
- Unknown expense of charging the car (35%)
- Potential increase in tax/charges for owning a diesel/petrol car (31%)
- Having to charge my car more often than I would fill up with diesel (29%)
- Not enough trained mechanics/garages to cater for increase in electric vehicles (25%)
- Losing money on my current vehicle (24%)
- Losing money later down the line when buying/selling a car (23%)
- Safety standards (12%)
- Electric/hybrid cars will take the fun out of driving (11%)
Sage & Onion - 01/12/2017 10:01
We should hope that a lot of R&D money will be invested into the hydrogen refuelling stations well before the time the ICE ban comes into force. After all, what is going to happen to the 8,500 or so fuel stations that we have in the uk? Will these become battery charging stations? Surely its more sensible to convert these to hydrogen filling stations? And then put an electric charging point in every street lamppost with a solar panel on top of each one that feeds into a Tesla power bank that feeds the street charging points. And remove all parking restrictions at these lampposts, apart from on main arterial routes (like red routes for example). Too simplistic I know but there must be some "genius" techies who can work out the finer detail!