According to MPs on the parliamentary Energy and Climate Change Committee, advancements in electric vehicles will mean traditional fuel-powered vehicles should be banned by 2030.
The government’s current target for stopping the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles is 2040, however MPs are now saying ministers could bring this date forward by 10 years.
The announcement follows similar calls by the Parliamentary Business Committee, which in November 2018 urged ministers to bring the ban forward to 2032.
MPs on the committee say electric vehicles will have an equivalent range and price of petrol- and diesel-powered cars by 2030, making this a feasible date to implement the ban.
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However, due to concerns around obtaining the necessary materials to make a full switch possible in just over 10 years, it is expected the committee will compromise on calling for a 2035 date.
A report produced by the committee is also expected to call for significant improvements to the speed at which the UK’s charging network is being rolled out.
Current limitations in the network prompted the government to announce the £400 million Road to Zero strategy, aimed at installing thousands of new charging points across the country.
In 2017, the government announced plans to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2040, with all fuel-powered vehicles banned from the roads entirely by 2050.
However, consumer concerns over the lack of infrastructure and high vehicle costs have hampered uptake, with the government controversially cutting the EV grant available to drivers in 2018.
Speaking about the current situation with electric vehicles to the BBC, Labour MP Mary Creagh criticised the actions of ministers in improving the charging infrastructure.
She said: “They seem to think the market will miraculously provide charging points and the government has no job to regulate charging points.”
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