The new car petrol and diesel ban moves to 2035

Low Emission Vehicles 

There's little doubt that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's announcement that the Government intended to move backwards the ban on new petrol and diesel cars will have caused confusion.

Moving the goalposts with some six years to go is a recipe for muddled messaging. Should drivers lease an electric car… or wait?

But the fact remains that the ban has been moved from its original deadline of 2030 to 2035, subject to the change going through Parliament and receiving Royal Assent.

“What I would say to all our business and personal customers is that Gateway2Lease is very much focused on helping businesses and individuals electrify,” said Rob Marshall, Operations Director of Gateway2Lease.

“Company car drivers are highly incentivised to choose electric because of the very low levels of benefit in kind taxation, while fleet decarbonisation is crucial for business Environmental, Social and Governance strategies.

“Electric cars are also less expensive to run over a fleet cycle despite the higher acquisition costs - not to mention the positive effects of zero emissions on local air quality. So I don't think the change of date will alter fleet strategies.

“We're also finding more and more companies investing in salary sacrifice as an employee benefit. It allows all employees within a company to choose an electric car at a much lower cost - thanks to a variety of tax breaks - than if they were to lease an EV privately. This service is provided via our partnership with The Electric Car Scheme.

“Finally, I would say that the cost of leasing an electric car personally is expensive, but it's coming down all the time and we expect this trend to continue. We currently have personal lease deals from under £225 a month.

“So while I find the announcement by the Prime Minister to delay such a positive environmental deadline highly disappointing, I'm not convinced it will make too much difference to the current direction of travel.

“We will continue to help businesses and individuals decarbonise while providing high levels of service - and for those that wish to continue with internal combustion engines, yes we'll continue to have attractive deals on those too!”

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