Tories say they’ll scrap petrol car ban if they win next election – what does it mean for drivers?

The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has promised to ditch the ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars if her party wins the next election.

Following hesitation and pauses by previous Conservative governments, the ban is well on its way to coming into force from 2030 as part of efforts to make the UK less polluting.

But Badenoch pledged to drop the ZEV mandate, which is the Zero Emission Vehicle law requiring 80% of car manufacturers’ production to be zero emission by the 2030 deadline.

Writing in the Telegraph, Badenoch said her move is inspired by Italy’s prime minister, Georgia Meloni, and her ‘common sense approach to net zero.’

She said: ‘It’s time to scrap the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. This little-known law bans future sales of petrol and diesel cars and is a well-meaning but ultimately destructive piece of legislation.’

Badenoch accused the government of not listening to car manufacturers, and putting the UK’s domestic car industry at a ‘disadvantage’ against global powers like China, a major producer of EVs.

Her comments come after the EU is reportedly planning to back down from its own 2035 target to ban the sale of diesel, petrol and hybrids. Six EU countries, including Poland and Italy, have called for the policy to be revamped for fears it could hurt industrial competitiveness.

But what is the petrol and diesel ban, and how does it impact drivers directly?

What is the ban on sale of petrol and diesel cars?

In short, the ban is about phasing out the sale of petrol and diesel cars by the start of the next decade.

However, no existing cars already owned by people will be forced off the road or banned, but the move is part of the government’s push to decarbonise and reach net zero targets in all areas of industry, including motoring.

Instead, the new law will ban the sale of petrol and diesel guzzling vehicles from 2030, while hybrids could be sold until 2035.

As part of the mandate, manufacturers have to sell a fixed and rising number of zero-emission vehicles every year. They have to reach 80% rate for new cars sold and 70% for new vans by 2030, rising to 100% by 2035.

This means car buyers are more likely to be offered an EV in the coming years when on the market for a new vehicle.

And the mandate also dictates that owners must be given a battery warranty of eight years or 100,000 miles for new EVs. And if the battery drops below 70% capacity in that time, they must be offered a replacement, Auto Car reports.

But now the EU’s hesitation on the 2035 target has cast a shadow over policy.

Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers, told Metro: ‘Europe is the biggest market for UK automotive exports and the largest source of products for UK car buyers.

‘So what happens in Europe matters to the U.K. industry. Whilst no one has yet seen the details of what might be agreed at EU level, a relaxing of regulation may give rise to the need to bring forward the UK review of its own regulation.’

However, the EV charging industry urged against pulling back on the ZEV mandate.

Vicky Read, the chief executive of ChargeUK, said: ‘The charging sector is investing billions of pounds in the UK, creating jobs as well as a nationwide infrastructure which is critical to drivers and to car manufacturers in order to sell EVs.

‘This is all underpinned by the certainty of the ZEV Mandate — to weaken it would be to pull the rug from underneath this industry yet again.

‘Our sector has already delivered close to 90,000 public charge points, building ahead of demand. To continue to do this we need policy stability, not knee-jerk reactions, so that the charging sector has the confidence it needs to keep investing.’

One of the biggest changes affecting EV drivers will be the 3p per mile tax announced in the autumn budget, which will see electric drivers pay around £250 a year from April 2028. You can read more about the new EV tax here.

What has the government said?

Meanwhile, the government has assured the industry and motorists that it is committed to the plan to phase out the sale of emission vehicles.

A spokesperson said: ‘We remain committed to phasing out all new non-zero emission car and van sales by 2035. More drivers than ever are choosing electric, and November saw another month of increased sales with EV’s accounting for one in four cars sold.

‘We’re investing over £7.5bn to support drivers and manufacturers make the switch to zero emission. This includes £4bn investment to back British manufacturing and R&D, create jobs and drive growth in the sector.”

‘Our electric car grant is making it cheaper than ever to choose an EV, with over 40,000 drivers saving up to £3,750 since launch, backed by an extra £1.3bn announced at the autumn budget.’

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