One of the world’s biggest motoring groups has asked for clearer guidelines from the government on the proposed 2030 combustion engine ban in the UK to help all stakeholders make solid plans.
While Ford have made their own commitment to have a fully-electric fleet across Europe within the next decade, their journey to carbon zero will be made a lot easier if all parties pull together to achieve that goal.
“In the UK, we’re calling on the government to put in place a clear plan,” said Ford’s Stuart Rowley at last week’s Future of the Car summit. “It has to be led at the ministerial level, but it needs to involve local governments as well as national, utility providers and industry participants. We think we should have that in place prior to COP26 so we can get on and implement that plan.
“We've made our decision, and the [car] industry largely has made a decision on the way it’s going. That's no longer up for debate. Policymakers have made statements about where they want to go and bringing forth legislation, but the reality is we need a plan to get there.”
Though the British government’s plan seems to be getting the green light from industry and the public, the ideas of politicians often lack any real business sense, and it is this clash which has led to Rowley’s plea for serious planning.
“We’re planning actively to change our business, with over $3 billion [£2.1bn] of investment behind that plan in Europe, and we need [government] plans to help consumers make the transition, particularly around the infrastructure and support. Charging is critical, and we’re going to have to go much faster in terms of charging points,” Rowley said.
“We also need to help customers with this transition. Electric vehicles today are more expensive, and we’re going to have to incentivise their purchase and use. There’s a lot of that in place across Europe, some more successful than others, but what we would ask for is a long-term view: to put [incentives] in place, say how long they’re going to be in place and allow car makers and consumers to make that transition.”