My understanding of this headline was the the sale of new diesel and petrol vehicles would stop in 2035 but all current vehicles in use would still be able to be used, and this is indeed the case.
So that means that the car industry will still be producing diesel and petrol vehicles for the next fifteen years. Then add into the life expectancy of vehicles, even these days, and I think we will not have to worry about what we can tow our caravans with for another 30 years.
The drive behind the headline is the plan to remove all diesel and petrol vehicles from the roads by 2050 and the original ban on new D and P cars of 2040 made this difficult with the life expectancy of vehicle as mentioned above of fifteen years.
And after actually reading the story behind the headlines there are a lot of noncommittal type words and statements used such as 'if possible' and 'subject to consultation' so the date is kind of a hope date if the technology is there to support it.
What will the technology be like when we get to 2035? (I hope to be flying around on anti gravity hover boards by then), they could have cracked hydrogen flue technology by then rendering the electric car as redundant as the compact disk and even the DVD player.
But things are being done, we have recently seen ALKo's plans to add a 48 volt electric motor to the caravan chassis to aid the range achievable when towing and to even use the braking kinetic energy generated to recharge the vehicles battery.
The caravan manufactures are also looking into the issue. I tried to tap up one of Swifts chief designers at a recent dealer event to see what they had on the agenda as they are currently looking at the caravans we will be seeing in five years time.
I had heard that the move to electric vehicles and the challenges this will bring is at the top of their list, but unfortunately he remained tight lipped.. but he did insure me that they are working hard on it.
So bearing in mind that the ban was brought forward in a particularly volatile political climate where the shift to green policies is a headline grabbing look at us doing the right thing type scenario, the fact that the total ban on diesel and petrol vehicles isn't planned until 2050 and the use of noncommittal language even on the 2035 date, do we really have to worry about what we will be towing our caravans with?
Add to this the global economy being heavy reliant on production and sale of fossil fuels I can't see the people who make their wealth in such markets not using their substantial sway on the powers that be just sitting back and just letting it happen, unless we all vote with our buying power.
Also and I have to have to break it to everyone as I had to do to the customers that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog who were both in their late sixties, the likelihood of a great number of us having to worry about the problem in the first place is fairly slim.
Check out ALKO's plans here
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