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Vital Football Legend
Britain will ban the sale of all new gasoline and diesel cars starting in 2040 as part of the government’s plan to reduce air pollution and copy France. The strategy, fronted by U.K. environment secretary Michael Gove and transport secretary Chris Grayling, would not only ban the future sale of internal combustion engines, but also provide a governmental incentive program similar to the United States’ Car Allowance Rebate System — colloquially known as “cash for clunkers.”
Because, as you know, nothing is better for the environment (or the used car market) than populating scrapyards with fully functional automobiles and having factories across the globe expend extra energy to replace them.
“We can’t carry on with diesel and petrol cars,” Gove told British television audiences on Wednesday. “There is no alternative to embracing new technology.”
That’s doubly true, as the government was ordered in April to publish stringent new plans to tackle air pollution after the British high court rejected attempts by ministers to delay the policy until after the general election. Much of the U.K. believes it’s in the midst of a pollution crisis believed to be responsible for over 40,000 premature deaths every year.
However, pushing through legislation that makes EVs mandatory may be pointless. Manufacturers are already scaling down engine sizes and adopting hybridized powertrains to meet existing emissions guidelines. Volvo wants to make all of its vehicles hybrids or purely electric within a couple of years, Mercedes-Benz has begun widely adopting mild-hybrid systems, and practically every other automaker is investing heavily in battery development. The 2040 ban could be redundant by the time companies stand to face penalties.
That said, the 2040 deadline could be unrealistic if adoption progress more slowly. However, British demand for electrically powered vehicles grew a whopping 40 percent in 2015. While that only amounts to about 2.5 percent of the total market, it accounted for around 50,000 registrations in the final quarter of 2015. The number has nearly doubled by the first quarter of 2017 as EV market share closes in on 5 percent.
Because, as you know, nothing is better for the environment (or the used car market) than populating scrapyards with fully functional automobiles and having factories across the globe expend extra energy to replace them.
“We can’t carry on with diesel and petrol cars,” Gove told British television audiences on Wednesday. “There is no alternative to embracing new technology.”
That’s doubly true, as the government was ordered in April to publish stringent new plans to tackle air pollution after the British high court rejected attempts by ministers to delay the policy until after the general election. Much of the U.K. believes it’s in the midst of a pollution crisis believed to be responsible for over 40,000 premature deaths every year.
However, pushing through legislation that makes EVs mandatory may be pointless. Manufacturers are already scaling down engine sizes and adopting hybridized powertrains to meet existing emissions guidelines. Volvo wants to make all of its vehicles hybrids or purely electric within a couple of years, Mercedes-Benz has begun widely adopting mild-hybrid systems, and practically every other automaker is investing heavily in battery development. The 2040 ban could be redundant by the time companies stand to face penalties.
That said, the 2040 deadline could be unrealistic if adoption progress more slowly. However, British demand for electrically powered vehicles grew a whopping 40 percent in 2015. While that only amounts to about 2.5 percent of the total market, it accounted for around 50,000 registrations in the final quarter of 2015. The number has nearly doubled by the first quarter of 2017 as EV market share closes in on 5 percent.
