‘Madman’s dream’ or breath of fresh air? Independent readers divided over 2030 petrol car ban

Our community share their views on the 2030 petrol car ban, from fears of ‘crippling infrastructure costs’ to hopes for ‘cleaner air and smarter incentives’

The UK will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 (Matthew Cooper/PA) (PA Archive)

After years of policy flip-flopping by previous governments, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has confirmed the UK will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, as pledged in its manifesto.

The move has reignited debate among Independent readers, with many questioning whether Britain is truly ready for such a shift.

While some support the environmental ambition, most raised concerns about the lack of infrastructure, especially for those without driveways or access to charging. Others argued that without major investment and clearer planning, the policy risks deepening inequality and damaging public trust.

There were calls for a more balanced approach using incentives for EV drivers, not just penalties for other motorists.

Some feared the ban could backfire without affordable EVs and reliable charging for all. But there was also optimism, with readers pointing to Norway’s success with benefits for EV drivers, and falling costs for older electric models.

Many agreed that while the transition is necessary, it must be made practical and inclusive. If the government wants drivers on board, they’ll need to offer more than just targets – they’ll need real solutions.

You can share your views on the 2030 petrol car ban below. Here’s what you had to say:

Unnecessary driving

There is a lot of unnecessary driving. In my rural area, the weekend and holiday roads are filled with lines of motorcycles, 4x4 tourists, caravans and, on occasion, swarms of vintage cars. Driving habits need to change.

Electric home charging points are a significant challenge, but less so for many rural properties. In town, with a public transport system in place, the need for a car is much reduced. But suggesting that car use, especially for leisure, should be reduced is seen as an attack on freedom, with consequent shouting against any curbs and the bigger climate and pollution picture is ignored.

WorkshyFop

Balance

This seems a good article setting out the need to balance the car industry against the environment.

I also agree that it is wrong to allow full hybrids to be sold alongside PHEVs until 2035. I know that full hybrids are marginally better than full fossil fuel vehicles, but maybe they could have given them just two to three years longer, not the full five?

DaveC67

The ban needs infrastructure investment

The ban won't work without massive government investment in the infrastructure. I live in a flat and so there's absolutely nowhere for me to charge an electric vehicle – even if I could afford one.

Given their cost, I'm not going to leave it in the local supermarket to charge! And not enough charging points on my 400-mile round trip to see my family.

Sesh70

A madman’s dream

2030 petrol ban is a madman's dream, the costs of upgrading the infrastructure alone would cripple this country for hundreds of years.

I'm tired of politicians with no real-world knowledge or experience coming up with unachievable plans. It's stuff like this that has the potential to actually destroy our country. We'll be begging other countries to let us import petrol vehicles come 2030, I guarantee it.

Trex

The world is changing

Charging facilities are behind and overpriced, however, more energy was created from renewables in 2024 than through fossil fuels and it is due to be 50 per cent this year, with oil and gas on the decline. The world is changing, and one day you'll be standing on a busy city street with gridlocked traffic and you will be able to take a deep breath, and it will be like being in the countryside.

DitchFirstPastThePost

Nowhere to charge

Look, it's very simple. The people making the decisions on this have five-bedroom taxpayer-funded detached houses with four-car garages and in-and-out drives with electric gates.

The normal people don't – in fact, half the houses in the country don't even have a driveway.

So there's nowhere to charge these cars, and no spare electricity to charge them with... you can't just tell everyone to stop driving on cold days when there is an electricity shortage in winter... you can't stop the entire economy for winter.

BlueWhale

Inconsistency is staggering

Reality will most likely arrive sooner than people think. Just through normal market forces.

Where we (still) need some push – and probably public subsidy – is improving infrastructure, and especially charging facilities for people without front drives. Various local councils e.g. Manchester, are still not allowing people to channel a cable across a pavement, which is proven safe technology (other councils are paying people to do it!). See, for instance, the Gul-E product. The inconsistency is staggering.

The Norway model is instructive. They gave a lot of benefits to EV drivers, such as free parking, free use of bus/taxi lanes, etc to encourage uptake. And now EVs are 98 per cent of new car sales. Without any legal requirement to ban sales of ICE cars at all. It just no longer makes sense to own one.

SteveHill

Labour running amok

What is happening here? Labour appears to be running amok! He is reinstating the 2030 ban? Can’t believe this. Hopefully, this lot will be out before then.

The word ‘bold’ seems to have acquired a new meaning: quality attributed to a four-legged animal that brays.

Krispad

Second cars

As a second car, a full EV makes sense, old EVs with 50+ mile range are very cheap now, and batteries are still easily good for that range.

As a first car with a long range, yes, they are expensive, but plug-in hybrids aren't; older ones are available and they have lower maintenance due to shared load on transmission and brakes.

Night time electricity tariffs bring your charging cost right down to about 1/3 of the cost of daytime home charging. Yes fast chargers cost £1000 installed, but an external 3-pin socket for slow home charging is about £200 and actually is almost all most people will ever need.

Hi5

Carrot and stick

It's got to be carrot and stick, EVs should pay some road tax, and the most polluting vehicles should pay more.

Vlossy

Some of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.

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