Re:UK to ban sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030: FT
by toomuchtodo on Sunday November 15, 2020 @12:59PM
(#25103202)
I see what you’re trying to get at, but look at Toyota (who sells about 10.7 million cars a year annually) trying to push fuel cells when EVs are the clear winner and there is almost zero hydrogen fueling infra (Honda and Fiat have to pay Tesla billions because they aren’t selling EVs in Europe, but still get to sell those combustion vehicles they do sell). I think market forces are important, but sometimes, when the situation warrants it (global emergency), you have to use the regulatory stick. We’ve run out of time for the Imaginary Hand to save us.
During World War 2, the US gov didn’t go to manufactures and kindly ask them to retool for the war effort. They demanded it. Similar situation, similar (but not quite as draconian) implementation. “You will build only EVs now, retool accordingly”.
Governments are even willing to invest in manufacturing and charging network costs, and green/central banks are coming with easy money. I’m unsure what other support you can provide at this point to make the transition smoother, considering petroleum consumption externalities are already unpaid for by the entire supply chain.
Re:UK to ban sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030: FT
by _ph_ on Sunday November 15, 2020 @03:06PM
(#25104308)
One way or the other, politics needs to send signals to the manufacturers and customers, where things are going. Yes, I expect the ban to be completely a token effort because people stopped buying ICE cars long before, but that might be triggered by this token now. Also, when discussing large scale infrastructure needed, be it grid enhancement or charge point creation, having this clear goal helps with the planning, especially when the government is involved.
Once the market gets to a point where the sales of ICE cars are around few percent out of all, maybe even less - then there's no point in banning them at all. Clearly only people who absolutely need them are buying them, because no one else does. So....why ban them? And it looks like the market is absolutely heading towards that point anyway, with truly draconian fines in the EU introduced soon and general apetite for electric cars showing strong growth in the car sales. We'll be there in 10 years, full ban or not.