Nobody is taking your car away…
There seems to be a lot of tension in the motoring world at the moment, or more specifically, our end of the world. You know, the people who own more cost effective cars, or who don’t wish to saddle themselves up to whatever PCP deal the smarmy salesman is pushing that week. This tension has of course been amplified somewhat by the Government’s declaration that as of 2030, the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles will be banned. And of course, this has sparked a reaction, but from where we’re sitting, it’s the wrong reaction. Nobody is taking your petrol or diesel burning car away. Or at least, not yet.
The 2030 ban on ICE vehicles is inevitable and it needs to happen. Also, it’s no bad thing. You, sitting there, reading this, you like cars. But remember, the vast majority of people don’t. For them, a car is a tool, it’s a wheeled pair of shoes, that’s it. Ergo, if we can get these people into more environmentally friendly machines, that’s a good thing. The sooner we can make an en masse shift to electricity, the longer we – the enthusiasts – will have with the cars we love. Because as the number of EVs increase, the pressure on us decreases. So welcome the 2030 ban – it takes the pressure off. It will convert those who buy new cars into people who buy new electric cars. That will be nothing but a good thing for the environment. And it means our precious fuel isn’t being burned in a Juke or a Kuga.
Then of course, there is the reactionary spread of false panic that has come from the news. The 2030 thing is a ban on NEW cars. In 2031, you will still be able to go out and buy a used petrol or diesel car. Same in 2035 and probably 2040. Our cars aren’t going away any time soon. There is an industry of garages, parts suppliers, specialists and others that is worth, quite literally, billions to the UK economy. This isn’t going to vanish overnight. The Government can’t afford that for starters. And then there is the classic car industry, which boasts over 4,000 businesses employing 34,000 people which in turn is worth over seven billion quid. These figures come from The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC).
Of course, there is some reality to take on board. And we’ll preface this by saying we’re just speculating. But things will change in the future. It might be a ‘pay as you go’ scheme, it might be a more defined classification of classic vehicle, or it might be nothing if enough people go out there and buy electric cars. Hell, we’d have an electric car if it meant more fuel for our 800. The best case scenario is that we’re allowed to carry on, as we’ll represent a small portion of all cars on the road, and as such, any environmental impact will be negligible. But this is only going to be the case if enough people buy EVs. So welcome them, don’t shout at them or become one of those people sharing misinformation about them.
EVs and the wider evolution of personal transport are not the enemy. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. These cars, this new wave of technology, this is the lifeline our cars need. Without them, all cars would be the devil and all cars would be punished. But now, we have EVs to take us into the future and to make enough of a positive impact to then allow those of us passionate about internal combustion to carry on as we were. The future of EVs is intrinsically linked to the future of vehicles of the past. You don’t have to like them, you don’t have to buy one, but you have to accept that they’re coming and welcome the change.
The future of the car is going to be interesting. It’s already an exciting, vibrant, ever-changing landscape full of advancements and evolution. It’s exciting. But it’s not a future that is trying to take your car away. It’s not one that is trying to replace all cars. There is existing industry, there are economies of scale, there are people (like us) who simply can’t afford to buy a new car. And for us folk, it’s not suddenly going to become a dictatorship in which we’re not allowed to have a car because we can’t afford the ‘right’ car. Never going to happen. So chill out. Enjoy your cars, look after your cars, buy the cars you want, have fun with them. For starters, 2030 is long way off, and even when it gets here, our world isn’t suddenly going to implode. And nobody it going to take your car away.
