Diesel / petrol banned by 2040 what do we do then

Of course not, thats the point.

Does not matter as they are not "banned"

Although I probably wont be around by 2040, I would like the Club to protest most strongly about this "Diesel ban".  I cant see how electric cars can hope to get anywhere near towing a caravan 250 miles without stopping for hours to recharge.  Its ridiculous!

That would be r8 funny: Big genny int back charging ya battery as ya go:

We have them already they are called hybrids 

Rumour has it that the cigarette packet on which they planned this has been thrown away, so there is much panic, could sense this in Michael Gove's TV. Interview.

As for the age worries,, there are more people over 90 and 100 with driving licenses than ever.

So this means all vehicles, so I guess we will see the following, electric diggers,dumpers,tractors,combine harvesters,speedboats,jet ski's, all with cables all over the place, methinks a trip hazard so how long before HSE get involved. How long before the no win no fee companies starting banking in claims when loads of claims come in for tripping over the cables. I am sure the readers of CT will be able to add to this never ending list of vehicles to to electrified,!!!!!! Oh just thought how will the armies recharge the tanks,troop carriers,armoured cars etc

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and comments on this. I've been speaking to Martin, the Technical Manager at the Club, and below are his thoughts on the situation:

Background

·         Things have been changing in the automotive industry for some time, with cleaner diesels, smaller petrol and diesel engines, lighter weight construction, hybrids and electric cars, etc. New technologies mean things are evolving rapidly, and issues like the diesel emissions scandal have helped push things on.

·         The petrol/diesel new car ban is planned for 2040, in 23 years’ time. With the current pace of change, it’s highly likely that most of the transition to new technologies will happen well ahead of that – perhaps over the next 10-15 years.

·         Many manufacturers have already announced plans for electrification of their products (hybrid or fully electric), for example:

o   BMW to build new fully electric Mini in Cowley from 2019

o   All new Volvo models will be hybrid or electric from 2019

o   Half of new Jaguars will be hybrid or electric by 2020

o   Porsche expect half their new car sales to be electric by 2023

o   Two thirds of new Hondas will be hybrid or electric by 2025

·         Remember that we haven’t always embraced diesels for towcar choice. The first time a diesel won the Club’s Towcar of the Year was the 1994 competition - it was a Citroen Xantia 1.9TD VSX (picture below). Coincidentally, that’s 23 years ago, giving a nice symmetry with the 23 years until a diesel ban.

What does this mean for caravanning?

Towcars

o   We’re likely to see a steady move towards electric drive (via hybrids, with fully electric cars becoming the norm later on).

o   Subject to the various challenges with these being resolved, they can potentially be excellent towcars, with very favourable driving characteristics like high torque and superb refinement.

o   Challenges include bringing the cost down to comparable with petrol/diesel models, ensuring adequate range and providing an effective changing infrastructure that utilised green energy.

o   Along with the rest of the wider towing industry, we need to encourage manufacturers of these cars to continue to include models with sensible towing limits.

o   For an indication of the future, look no further than the Tesla Model X, available today with fully electric drive,  2200kg maximum towing limit and 200 mile range when towing a fair-sized caravan (from independent testing – about 30% down on solo range). It’s expensive, but cost should fall and capability rise for this kind of car over the next decade.

o   Diesel, petrol and hybrid cars will continue to be sold for some while yet, and stay in use up until and beyond 2040. We can expect to see gradually increasing restriction on the use of these in urban areas (extending the London LEZ approach), which might include bans or additional access charges.

o   As car efficiencies increase and electric vehicles grow in popularity, the current model of Government revenue (based in fuel taxes and an annual Vehicle Excise Duty based on emissions) no longer works. It is hard to see an alternative to some form of mileage-based tax being introduced instead at some stage, to mitigate a loss in government revenue of many billions of pounds per year otherwise. That needs to be applied fairly to new and existing vehicles. Towcars tend to do relatively low annual mileages, and can often avoid roads which are especially busy at peak times, so such an approach may be beneficial.

o   Will older diesels and petrols plummet in value? That’s a risk, but it’s worth bearing in mind that the average age at which a car is scrapped in the UK is around 14 years old. That means most of the cars being sold now will have been scrapped before the 2040 ban on new petrol and diesel sales kicks in. However, if consumer demand leads to a significantly more rapid shift to alternative power, or if government policy results in relatively high levels of tax on these vehicles, their residual values could be pushed down more quickly.

Campervans

o   These largely share technology with cars, and will (very soon) follow car technology changes....more petrol models and then hybrids and then electric.

o   Such changes should keep them largely clear of the urban access restrictions likely to be applied to diesels and larger commercial vehicles.

Motorhomes

o   The commercial vehicle technology underpinning this sector is likely to change a bit more slowly than that for cars.

o   However, major manufacturers are bringing new technology into the market – hybrid Ford Transits are planned for 2019, for instance.

The Club’s role

 ·         The Club cannot dictate to manufacturers or government what their actions should be, but it can ensure that the interests of Club members and caravanners and motorhomers in general are represented and heard where decisions are being made. We do this through liaison with manufacturers and their trade associations, and participation in Government consultation exercises.

·         We also make sure prospective buyers are aware of technology developments and of the new products available which utilise them. We tested our first hybrid towcar several years ago, for instance, and will be testing this technology again next week (w/c 31 July) at our annual Towcar of the Year competition.

Regardless of how good they become: & i totally agree with the idea of banning these vehicles: I just cant see the time when theres enough charging stations.  They'll have to be lined up on every street in the country like parking meters: Extension cables all over the place. Which will cause allsorts of probs on it's own.Vandiism:  Imagine the work of laying all the cables. & blocks of flats, How many charging stations will they take ?: I can only see absolute pandamonium: Fighting in the streets. God it'll be like a madmax film:& as for cost, i think the average working man wont afford em. & i'm gunna take a lot of convincing otherwise: Dont matter to me i'll be dead by then, but just my opinion:

It would be economic suicide and logistically impossible to change the nations new car fleet to full battery powered electric propulsion in 23 years. That is less time than it is taking to build HS2 so everyone, govt included need to take a reality check. According to Autocar magazine the intention is to have electrification of all new cars - that means hybrids are included. there is a world of difference between electrified and full EV cars. It also only refers to cars and vans, specialist vehicles and HGV's are NOT included. The whole anti diesel debate which has lead to this is based on the usual half truths whipped up initially by US anti foreign company attitudes. Does anyone seriously believe had VW been a US company we would have heard of diesel-gate?! The reality is most pollution in cities comes from non transport related sources - for example particulates - which are also usually blamed on diesel are more likely to come from supposedly environmentally friendly and preserve of the middle classes wood burning stoves! You can't make it up.....