The latest government consultation on how quickly the UK car market should migrate to fully electric vehicles concerns what will happen between 2030 and 2035.
But it has made it 100% clear where the entire industry, even small- and micro-scale manufacturers, will stand after that.
All new cars, no matter who makes them, must be fully zero-emissions after 1 January 2035. No engines. No exemptions. Nobody, as was the case previously and which remains the case in the EU, is ‘out of scope’ of the regulations.
Are you a car maker that produces five newly registered cars a year by hand? From 2035, you will be in the same boat as Ford.
It’s worth reiterating how clear this is. The latest consultation, launched on Christmas Eve and running to 18 February, asks questions and puts forward proposals that include whether small-scale car makers should be included in the 2030 changes.
They’re the reason why Lister boss Lawrence Whittaker was on the news last week seeking urgent clarification, having stopped all of the firm’s future development plans.
The government has acknowledged that “there is a precedent for treating small manufacturers differently” and stated: “Kit cars represent a very small overall segment of the market.
It is proposed that applying the requirements to kit cars would therefore not be proportionate.”
Beyond that, though, there’s no doubt, no hidden meaning, no ambiguity, as paragraph 62 of the consultation reads: “It is clear that all manufacturers must decarbonise according to the ambitious timetable for all new cars and vans to be ZEV by 2035, including those made by low-volume manufacturers.”
Paragraph 64: “For all manufacturers of all sizes, new cars and vans must be 100% zero-emission by 2035.”The short of it is: if you want a combustion- engined Caterham, you have 10 years left.
This is despite the acknowledgement that “smaller-volume manufacturers account for a very small proportion of overall UK vehicle sales and limited amounts of CO2” and that “they play a vital role in supporting jobs, investment, skills and expertise within the UK automotive industry”.
It’s hoped that in future they “will play an important role in the transition to ZEVs” (all from paragraph 61), whether they and their customers want to or not.
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It seems quite obvious to me that any CO saving in use will never be recoved from the making of the batteries, and most of these niche cars have long lives, with a great deal of inactivity, neither of which suggests one battery pack will last the life of the car, making the CO2 caes against ICE even worse.
But if they admit that some cars might be better for the planet running on petrol, then their argument against others wont look so strong either. So i expect an absolute ban.
ICE running on man made fuel would be better still, but i cant see those making the rules have the sense to see that either.
In the end I think niche car makers should plan on restoring, and rebuilding the cars they have already made, and selling as 'better than new'. There are no rules anywhere against that
ICE vehicles also cause deadly air pollution.
EVs are also faster and more fun to drive, ICE is dead, people need to accept it and move on.