THE Government has said it will ban all diesel and petrol powered cars from 2040 bringing the curtain down on the era of the internal combustion engine.
Ministers unveiled their court-mandated plans for meeting EU limits on harmful nitrogen dioxide pollution this morning.
They include a £255 million fund to help local authorities come up with ways to improve air quality, ranging from improving public transport and changing road layouts, to charging zones for polluting vehicles if other measures don’t work.
The BMW i3 – one of the UK’s most popular EVs
But much of the focus was on plans to end the sale of all conventional petrol and diesel cars by 2040, to help tackle air pollution and climate change emissions.
The impending shake-up is already having an impact on the electric car market.
Consumer interest in electric vehicles is soaring. The market for alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) saw a record market share of 4.4 per cent in June with more than 10,700 hitting the roads, a rise of 29 per cent.
At the same time the overall used market for electric vehicles has seen values increasing by 7 per cent this year.
Motoring expert Chris Plumb from hpi said:
“Interestingly it appears to be the range extender models which is driving the recent strong performance as values of pure electric have struggled of late. The BMW i3 is a popular choice and is a great second hand buy. It brings a good level of specification and badge prestige.
“The optional range extender can increase the range of the BMW i3 in comfort mode from up to 125 miles to a total of 206 miles. The small, rear-mounted, quiet two-cylinder petrol engine powers a generator that maintains the charge of the battery at a constant level, so that the BMW i3 can continue to drive electrical.”
A used BMW i3 with 15,000 miles on the clock has a used value of £14,650 against a new price of £30,925.
The made-in-Sunderland Nissan Leaf with the 30KWh power train is attracting higher used values than the lower powered 24kWh battery pack as it has a larger range.
According to Nissan, the Leaf has an official range of up to 124 miles (4kWh) or up to 155 miles (30kWh).
Source: The York Press