United Kingdom

Major Development in 2022

In November 2020, the UK was the first G7 country to announce ambitious phase-out dates for petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe. Phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2035 will reduce greenhouse gas emissions faster, with savings equivalent to almost five million fewer cars on the road each year by 2035. 2022 was an important year for the UK’s drive to decarbonise road transport with a number of firsts achieved. In September 2022, the UK reached the milestone of over one million plug-in vehicles on its roads. The number is increasing, with over one in five cars sold in 2022 having a plug. December 2022 was also the best ever month for new battery electric car registrations, with more sales than in all of 2019 combined and making up 32.9% of the market share. In March 2022, the Government published the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy, which set out the vision and commitments to make EV charging cheaper and more convenient than refuelling at a petrol station. To ensure that the transition to EVs takes place in every part of the country, in August 2022 the Government launched a £10 million GBP ($12.5 million USD) Local EV Infrastructure Fund pilot [2]. The pilot, serving as a springboard for the development of the full fund, will deliver over 1,000 on-street chargepoints and £8.6 million GBP ($10.8 million USD) in private investment.

Outlook

2023 will be another vital year for the UK’s drive to decarbonise our road transport. Government will publish key initiatives, including the last consultation on our zero emission vehicle mandate, setting targets requiring a percentage of manufacturers’ new car and van sales to be zero emission each year from 2024, as well as accompanying CO2 emissions regulation. Regulations will be laid out in 2023 and come into effect in January 2024. In addition, we will set out our approach to defining Significant Zero Emission Capability for cars and vans sold between 2030 and 2035, after which all new cars and vans sold will need to be completely zero emission.