The Labour government looks set to stick to its manifesto commitment to reinstate the 2030 phase-out for new petrol and diesel cars, according to reports.

The confirmation was announced by This is Money and Mail Online Motoring and backed by comments from a Department for Transport (DfT) spokesperson.

The DfT also confirmed its official comment to Fleet World, saying: “We’re committed to delivering greener transport by supporting the transition to electric vehicles.

“This includes phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and accelerating the rollout of charge points. We will set out more details in due course.”

Plans for hybrid vehicles to be included and the impact on the ZEV mandate have not been revealed.

The move follows the former Conservative government’s rowback on the ICE phase-out, which pushed the end date for sales of new fossil fuel cars and vans back to 2035. This was followed by the January 2024 launch of the ZEV mandate, which reinforced the 2035 end date with increasingly stringent EV sales quotas on manufacturers.

Labour MP and former Shadow Roads Minister Bill Esterson told members of electric vehicle trade group Recharge UK that Labour would restore the 2030 date for the end of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars following a general election win.

This was followed by the party’s election manifesto, which pledged to restore the 2030 ICE phase-out for cars – but not vans – in a move to speed up the transition to electric vehicles. The party said it would be backed by accelerating charge point rollout and supporting buyers of second-hand electric cars by standardising the information supplied on the condition of batteries.

Speaking to the Fast Charge EV newsletter this week, Esterson, who’s running to be chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, said: “The manifesto commitment is very much what this government’s going to do. I think we’ve got to look at how to implement it effectively. But the reason it matters is because it’s about rebuilding consumer confidence.”

Esterson added: “There’s multiple elements here to improving the take-up. But you have to have a combination of encouraging people and a degree of compliance. I think the 2030 date is a bit of both. But what matters is certainty.”

He also explained the rationale for reinstating 2030.

“The calculation that was done for us as a party demonstrated that delaying five years cost drivers tens of billions of pounds in higher fuel costs. That was why we made that decision.”

A report earlier this summer by the Climate Change Committee said the UK must reinstate the 2030 phase-out of new fossil-fuel car and van sales to reach a critical net zero goal. The report from the UK’s independent adviser on tackling climate change said the UK market share of fully electric vehicles – not including plug-in hybrids – out of all new vehicles sold needs to increase from 16.5% for cars and 5.9% for vans in 2023 to between 80% and 100% for cars and between 70% and 100% for vans by 2030.

Reaction to the reports on the reinstatement of the 2030 ICE ban has been mixed.

ChargeUK CEO Vicky Read commented: “With a public charger being installed every 25 minutes and the rollout of infrastructure continuing to increase ahead of demand, the charging industry is currently on track to deliver what drivers need to switch to an EV.

“However, to help deliver the infrastructure needed for a cleaner transport future in either date scenario, the industry needs a supportive environment to keep going at this pace – certainty from the government about 2030, but also about the ZEV mandate, which remains a critical enabler of charge point investment, positivity about the transition in messaging to consumers, and barriers to deployment and investment removed.”

Quentin Willson, founder of FairCharge, expressed concerns about a change to the ICE ban.

He said: “The date is purely totemic – a relic of Boris’s EV evangelism from a different time. It’s also meaningless given that the ZEV mandate is already in place with 80% EV production mandated by 2030. And quite a few OEMs have declared that they will be full-electric before 2030 anyway. Many of the green groups I’ve spoken to agree that reinstating 2030 would do more harm than good. I think it would be a mistake.”

Thom Groot, CEO of The Electric Car Scheme, said: “The reinstatement of the 2030 deadline for 100% zero emission vehicle sales is welcome news to achieve net zero, but more will need to be done to ensure that it is a realistic target, not just an empty promise. This needs to come from policy to back this up – and involves both a ‘carrot and stick approach’ – not just stick.”

Groot has called for various actions to back up plans – including ending the fuel tax subsidy, cutting VAT for public charging and a commitment to 5% Benefit-in-Kind rates until 2035, which would increase confidence in the affordability of EVs.

He’s also urged the Government to welcome lower cost EVs, including from China Research from The Electric Car Scheme shows that for 68% of Brits affordability is the biggest barrier to getting an EV, and Groot says “making this worse is a sure-fire way to alienate people keen to make the transition to electric”.

And Stuart Tolley, geo director at EV charging solution provider Virta, called for the return of grant support to help UK firms install the necessary infrastructure to support the increase in the uptake of EVs.

“To meet the anticipated 2030 requirements, immediate action is essential. The next four years will see further significant shifts in eMobility, particularly with the rise of electric HGVs and electric vans, which will necessitate increased support.

“The Government’s pledge to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles by 2030 must be backed by substantial inward investment. I hope that grant support processes will be reinstated, enabling UK companies to develop the necessary infrastructure and increase vehicle uptake.”

Tolley added: “Support should extend beyond large hub builds and motorway service area improvements. It must also include vehicles, home charging, community charging, fleet depots and behind-the-wire charging locations with access during non-operational hours. To achieve the ideal of eMobility, it must be made easy and accessible for all.”