UK should bring forward new petrol and diesel car ban to 2032 – lawmakers

A Blue City electric car is charged at a Source power point in London, Britain, October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should bring forward a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by eight years to 2032 to help the country reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, a parliamentary committee said on Friday.

Britain hopes to become a world leader in electric vehicle technology and currently plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 as a part of efforts to meet its climate targets.

An electric car is charged by a Source power point as it sits parked in London, Britain, October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

"If we are serious about being EV (electric vehicle) world leaders, the government must come forward with a target of new sales of cars and vans to be zero emission by 2032," said Rachel Reeves, Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, which authored the report.

The report said the country should improve incentives for the uptake of electric vehicles and criticized a recent decision to cut grants for new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles from November.

It also said the country's infrastructure, to allow for the charging of electric vehicles, was not fit for purpose.

A sign for electric charging points can be seen on display in London, Britain, October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

"The government needs to get a grip and lead on coordinating the financial support and technical know-how necessary for local authorities to promote this infrastructure and help ensure that electric cars are an attractive option for consumers," Reeves said.

Britain has around 16,500 charging points but will need this to increase to at least 100,000 by 2020, a report from UK-based data company Emu Analytics said in May.

Britain's energy industry association, Energy UK, backed the call for an earlier start to the ban.

A driver plugs a cable into a Source power point to charge his electric car in London, Britain, October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

"We firmly support the committee's call for greater ambition and believe that an accelerated timetable for the roll out of Electric Vehicles (EVs) is both desirable and feasible," it said.

However, Britain's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said the 2040 ban was already ambitious and said meeting the target earlier would be almost impossible.

"Zero emission vehicles make up just 0.6 percent of the market, meaning consumer appetite would have to grow by some 17,000 percent in just over a decade. This is unrealistic," SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said in a statement.

FILE PHOTO: An electric car charging point owned by Chargemaster is seen here in Brighton, Britain, June 28, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

(Reporting By Susanna Twidale; editing by David Evans)

FILE PHOTO: Cars sit in a traffic jam along the Embankment during the morning rush hour in central London, Britain, August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo