When it comes to the clean-air credentials of new cars, it’s simple, right? Pure electrics rule, followed by part-electrics (hybrids), then come pure petrol models, with diesels rooted to the bottom of the pile as they’re deemed dangerously dirty. That’s more or less the line we’ve been fed – but is it true? https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/opinion/354505/scrap-your-hybrid-diesel-campaign-might-just-happen
A very interesting read, thanks for sharing. I’d imagine this will be buried under a couple of thousand tonnes of other “news” by both the government and the car industry. We’ve been fed the hybrid mantra for some time now, as well as the negativity towards derv, a little report like this will surely be ignored.
I have thought before that in twenty or so years time that diesel will be more easily available than petrol. We will be back at the lorry pumps like in the 80s.
I strongly suspect that diesel will be around for years to come. They will find a way to clean up the emissions and create a green alternative to EV's. After all, they do emit less CO2 greenhouse gases. And the Arabs still have large oil reserves to use up. But here in rip-off Britain, every single household is already paying well over the odds on their energy bills to pay for the so called Green Revolution.
Current EVs are no good for the journeys I make - that may change of course - but in time for 2030? If the UK really goes ahead and bans the sale of IC engined cars by 2030 then I'll be buying one of the last ones and keeping it for ever. I don't know if they will ban the personal import of cars with IC engines then too though. LHD wouldn't bother me - I usually do more miles on mainland Europe than in the UK. In the last 40 years I've only owned four RHD vehicles, but have had five LHD.
I hope you are right, but is there any serious money going into more R&D of IC engines? All we seem to read in the press is that the car companies are concentrating on EVs.
I'll be doing exactly the same as @Singvogel - buying something really nice in 2029 with an efficient ICE and keeping it. It would certainly last me out. I just do not believe that they will have anything like the required charging infrastructure in place by 2030 for the majority of transport to be EV's. As with everything that politicians do - it will be all talk and not enough action.
PHEV models are not proving to be as clean as some predicted. The assumption has been that users would plug in much more than they do. But... many don't bother, other users, it is minimal EV use. The official UF (Utility Factor) is proving to be way off. That means the official emissions targets and manufacturer's CO2 'allowances' are not reflective of PHEV real world usage. Peter
I recon we are going to see about another 15 years slippage over what they are saying. By then (2045) I will be 103 years old and will need plugging into the mains to keep going.
Sometimes I feel I already need plugging in the mains, to keep going. Don't add on another 20 or more years... Peter
If I'm lucky, I'll have a souped up electric golf buggy that I can terrorise the local neighbourhood with. Seriously, locally there was an old chap well into his 80's that was out on the roads around Cheshire every day. He could be seen in all weathers - had one of those plastic covers for the rain. Used to see him regularly -flat out at 20 Mph with a big smile on his face, and a queue of traffic behind him. I always felt obliged to give him a friendly honk and thumbs up when I passed him.