The Road to 2030: What the UK’s Petrol and Diesel Car Ban Really Means

Firstly, I can already hear you *sigh* as a fellow car lover.

The ban on new petrol and diesel cars was originally introduced in 2017 under former Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, with an initial target date of 2040. This was brought forwards to 2030 during Boris Johnson’s tenure in November 2020, then delayed to 2035 due to cost-of-living concerns by Rishi Sunak.

However, this has since been rescinded, with the original 2030 target restored by Keir Starmer’s Labour government in 2024 for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, whilst new hybrid sales are still expected to be phased out by 2035.

Not all is lost! You can still drive your cars. But this does mean the end of an era. I remember the days when the Audi R8 had just been released, it was rare to see a Lamborghini on the roads and Top Gear was the main source of car content consumption (my personal choice was watching Mat Watson do the water bottle test on Autocar). I could be cliche and say ‘oh the good days’ like everyone else. We all know that’s the case, so we have to move on and accept that we are part of history, and we were part of building it through our passions for cars.

The cease in sales of traditional cars will mean that we will move on. But it also means that some of us could potentially make some exciting investments in petrol and diesel cars and one day show our grandchildren what a petrol car was.

What are your thoughts?

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