By Sandy Burgess
PEOPLE react in different ways to a piece of shock news and the ban on all new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2040 undoubtedly put uncertainty into the new car market.
They are aware of the announcement, but there is a high degree of ignorance, and panic, too.
The Government’s statement certainly wasn’t helpful, could have been handled and presented better and is having a detrimental effect on new car sales.
One dealer told me a consumer walked into a showroom and cancelled his new diesel because he thought diesel cars were to be banned from next year.
The motorists who normally replace their car with a new diesel don’t know which way to jump and have removed themselves from the market while they await developments.
Every diesel has been labelled hugely contaminating to the environment, but the current Euro Six engines – which reduce levels of harmful car and van exhaust emissions – are far superior to every engine that went before it.
However, it is maybe being cynical to say the 2040 petrol and diesel ban will destroy the new car market.
There had been quite a lot of activity in the last six to eight years, particularly in the city centres.
We are seeing an increase in electric ownership, particularly in the cities where they have their biggest benefits.
The link between lifestyle and the practicality of an electric vehicle is highest for motorists doing a commute of 15 to 20 miles each day. We can’t all roar out and buy electric Teslas that do 250 miles between charges.
We are seeing a natural degree of growth in dual electric vehicles, and some all-electric vehicles, but expect sales of hybrid cars – which rely on electric motors and conventional combustion engines to power them – to soften over the coming months because there is so much uncertainty about the future.
There are questions about plug-in hybrids and how long they can go on a charge leaving some buyers to reach the conclusion; what’s the point of them?
I drive 35,000 miles a year in a diesel car. I looked at whether to buy a petrol-hybrid car and realised it was not economic because I live 125 miles from my office.
After being plugged in and fully charged, the electric option of the vehicle I looked at had a travel capability of just 19 miles.
It wasn’t going to get me very far and when the charge ran out, I would have to use petrol. It made no sense from an economy point of view.
The electric vehicle is going to play a huge part in the future, but a lot of work needs to be done over the next 23 years.
Battery technology, which has not developed much over the past 20 years, has to improve dramatically for all-electric models to take over the roads completely.
So much has to change and the costs will be astronomical.
Sandy Burgess is chief executive of the Scottish Motor Trade Association.
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