MPs on the Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee have called for the sale of new cars with petrol or diesel engines to be banned by 2032.
Last summer the government set a target date of 2040 for the ban. The Select Committee wants this to be brought forward by 8 years. Its report highlights the need for a planned infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles and criticises the government’s plans to leave this to local authorities and the private sector.
Instead the committee calls for a nationwide plan to ensure electric vehicles can be readily charged and that such an infrastructure should receive state funding. The National Grid has backed the calls for state support for a charging infrastructure.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the 2040 target was “already extremely challenging”.