Municipal leaders around the world know the reliance on fossil fuels to power passenger cars, buses, trucks and delivery fleets is a dead end, not only for the environment but for public health. In the UK, transport is responsible for 80 per cent of nitrous dioxide, which causes air pollution and are linked to illnesses and conditions such as respiratory illnesses, certain cancers and cardiovascular disease, among others. Nurturing a healthy population is another reason cities around the world are accelerating the switch to electric vehicles (EVs), a step the UK Government has identified as playing an important role in the “least-cost pathway” to hitting net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Cities are at the forefront of that fight. London, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Hamburg, Rome, Brussels and many other European metro areas have all implemented plans to either restrict or ban petrol and diesel-burning cars from urban centres. In total, 24 European cities with a cumulative population of more than 62 million people have committed to either eliminating or severely curtailing the use of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2030. These types of restrictions on fossil fuel cars are one of the main reasons major automakers have come around to electric vehicles in recent years. The industry, which is already facing disruption from autonomous, connected, electric and shared mobility trends, has chosen to be part of the current sea change in transport.
Today, there are 60 plug-in electric vehicle models available in Europe, with plans for an additional 214 in 2021. While that number may change, one thing is certain — carmakers have invested tens of billions of pounds in e-mobility and they are unlikely to double-down on petrol moving forward.
Restrictions work, but only to a point. Although European diesel vehicle registrations fell from 50 per cent of total to only 36 per cent between 2015 and 2018 due to new regulations, authorities must do more to get citizens on board with the electrification of transport. They must lead by example. For its part, the UK Government has committed to making 25 per cent of its own car fleet ultra-low emission by 2022, with plans to get to 100 per cent by including plug-in electric vehicles in all new vehicle procurements by 2030.