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Carmakers will be given a five-year extension to sell hybrid cars in plans being reviewed by ministers to help beleaguered motor makers.
The sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned from 2030, but an exemption could be made for some hybrid cars to be sold until 2035 to ease the threat of factory closures after the owner of Vauxhall said its plant of Luton will close.
financial time Former Transport Secretary Louise Haigh was reported to have been open to allowing the sale of Prius-style cars before resigning on Friday after admitting she had served a decade-old criminal sentence.
Manufacturers are battling the public's reluctance to buy electric cars, with figures released on Thursday showing UK car production fell for the eighth consecutive month.
Britain produced 15 percent fewer cars in October than a year ago, with 77,484 vehicles rolling off production lines, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
The poor figures come as carmakers warn that upcoming fines for producing too many petrol and diesel cars could lead to more factory closures, following Vauxhall owner Stellantis' announcement this week.
The plant's impending closure prompted Chancellor Rachel Reeves to say the government had launched a consultation “to look at the plans we inherited from the previous government.”
“It's really important… to make sure we get the balance right and [have] adequate support for the automotive sector, the car industry, in Britain,” he told reporters earlier this week.
“We want people to buy electric vehicles, but we want to keep jobs, we want to keep investment in Britain and we are determined, through the consultation, to do just that.”
Plans to phase out petrol and diesel cars were unveiled during former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government. That government said any hybrids sold after 2030 “must offer significant zero-emissions capability,” leading to speculation about whether milder hybrids like Priuses would count, since they need gasoline engines to run.
Carmakers who have invested billions of pounds in hybrid technology have lobbied hard for the government to allow most hybrid cars to be included.
In 2022 it was reported that Toyota threatened to close its car plant in Derbyshire, which makes Corolla hybrid cars, if the government banned models like these from 2030.
Ministers will now consider allowing carmakers to make hybrids in the style of the Toyota Prius, which uses batteries to recover energy lost when braking, giving cars much greater efficiency in urban driving.
Hybrid cars come in many forms: the mildest ones cannot run solely on battery power. They gain power when braking and then add momentum when accelerating. Models include the Ford Fiesta and some Volkswagen Golfs.
Models like the Prius have larger batteries and can travel short distances on battery power alone, allowing the engine to be turned off when the car stops. These cars pollute less than mild hybrids.
Plug-in hybrids have even larger batteries and can travel distances of tens of miles on electric power. As the name suggests, they can be charged externally at home or through public chargers.
When the charge runs out, they can use a gasoline engine to keep running for longer journeys, as well as regain power when braking. Gasoline and diesel engines are most efficient when running at constant speed, making hybrid technology valuable in reducing fuel costs and emissions.
