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UK carmakers lobbied to keep petrol and diesel cars after 2035
A joint April letter urged the government to allow internal-combustion options beyond 2035, despite the 2035 ban being a core policy for cutting UK carbon emissions.
Major carmakers, including BMW, Ford, Nissan and Toyota, along with parts maker Bosch, privately lobbied UK ministers to roll back a ban on new petrol and diesel cars after 2035, according to documents reviewed by The Guardian Business.
The outlet reports the companies sent a joint letter in April calling for an “open technology approach” that would allow highly efficient internal combustion engines, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, range extenders and combustion engines after 2035, alongside claims such options should be used with green steel and sustainable fuels.
The Guardian Business said the lobbying effort was based on the UK government stance that the 2035 ban is not open to negotiation, and noted the ban is described as a cornerstone policy for reducing UK carbon emissions, with the Climate Change Committee citing electric vehicle switching as a major driver of cuts over the next decade.
The outlet also cited criticism from campaigners and Polestar, whose UK managing director Matt Galvin said reversing the shift to pure electric vehicles during a climate emergency would be a historic policy failure.