Most Brit Drivers Plan Indefinite ICE Ownership If Government Forces New Car Ban

Most U.K. motorists will hold on to their aging internal-combustion-engine vehicles for as long as they can if their government goes ahead with its election manifesto pledge to ban all but battery-electric-vehicle new-car sales by 2030.

The U.K. is on course to be the first major country in Europe to impose the ban on ICE technology while its European Union neighbors are currently leaving the door open to carbon-neutral ICE-fueled vehicles after 2035.

Even so, a survey commissioned by green fuel specialist Sustain of more than 2,000 U.K. drivers suggests 52% don’t believe even the EU’s deadline can be met without the inclusion of ICE new-car sales.

The survey finds 59% of motorists driving a gasoline or diesel-fueled car plan on keeping it going indefinitely, while 50% of respondents felt the environmental impact of scrapping a car in good working order would be too great. Some 40% thought BEVs would not suit their transport requirements.

Sustain says the findings also revealed that it is not just the timing of this plan that people are questioning, it’s also the approach being taken, with 54% complaining they are being forced into a switch to BEVs while not being offered alternative sustainable motoring alternatives.

A significant minority, 22%, say they would like to see the government use a combination of all available technologies to transition away from fossil fuel. However, awareness of other fueling options is low with 34% admitting they had either not heard of sustainable fuel or did not know what it was.

Environmental concerns were raised by 45% of respondents believing the government’s environmental policy is flawed and fails to take account of a full-life cycle analysis (LCA) for different ‘green’ alternatives.

The company says LCA involves evaluating the environmental impact of a product from creation to disposal. For BEVs this would include calculating the carbon emissions that come from the battery-making process or the use of non-renewable electricity sources, rather than focusing purely on tailpipe emission comparisons.

Finally, the research suggests 27% of British motorists are planning to buy an ICE car close to any proposed deadline to ban ICE new-car sales in order to keep them going for as many years as they can be kept on the road.

Sustain director David Richardson says: “Whether we meet the deadline on new cars and van sales or not, one thing is certain: We’re going to have ICE vehicles on our roads for years to come. What we need is a strategy that addresses this. It’s important to stress that ICEs are not the issue here, it’s the fossil fuel we put in them. So, if credible alternatives are already publicly available that could make our current cars more environmentally friendly, shouldn’t we embrace them?

“Sustainable fuels are readily available, compatible with our current fleet and could help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% compared to fossil fuels. Plus, as our survey shows, the public appetite for them is evident, with 54% already stating they would happily use it within their vehicle. If we keep sidelining such innovations, rather than investing in them and incentivizing their use, we’ll continue to move our milestones rather than meet them.”