UK isolated with its ‘aggressive’ plan to sell only electric cars as EU waters down its own targets

Britain has been left isolated over its ‘aggressive’ plan to sell only electric cars by 2035 after the EU rolled back its own target.

The UK ‘is completely out of line’, says David Bailey, a car industry expert and professor at Birmingham Business School, who added: ‘There’s no other country with a significant auto industry that has set such an aggressive target.’

And the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), an industry body, said Britain must weigh up the global context.

In Brussels, officials propose to water down a goal to cut emissions from new cars by 100 per cent from 2021 levels – to equal zero – by 2035. The target will now be 90 per cent.

UK rules mean the electric vehicle share of the market must be 80 per cent by 2030. From then, the sale of new petrol- or diesel-only cars will be banned. 

Bailey said: ‘Given the average life of a car being 15 years, allowing ICE [internal combustion engine] cars up to 2035 would get us to net zero by 2050 in good shape and help the industry make the transition.’

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘What happens in Europe matters to the UK. Permitting a greater range of technologies beyond 2035 gives Europe increased flexibility to manage a sustainable transition – without compromising its ambition.’

Industry minister Chris McDonald has told the Financial Times that the Government will review its targets.