Prime minister to focus on car industry, which has been hit by 25% tariffs on exports to US, but manufacturers say ‘greater action almost certainly needed’
The Green Alliance thinktank welcomed the fact that the government has not not changed the headline goal of 2030 for the year when the sale of petrol and diesel cars must end (apart from micro-volume supercar brands, like McLaren and Aston Martin – which are now exempt). But it has expressed concern that the changes announced today will slow progress towards making the car industry fully electric.
Shaun Spiers, its executive director, said:
We welcome the prime minister’s clear support for the 2030 phase-out of highly polluting cars and vans: the future of the UK car industry must be electric — or it won’t have one.
The government is right to act swiftly to protect the UK car industry in the face of US tariffs, but it’s important to recognise that China and other countries are racing ahead in EV production.
The changes we are making have been very carefully calibrated so as not to have a big impact upon the carbon emissions savings that are baked into this policy.
In fact, the impact upon carbon emissions as a result of these changes is negligible.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/apr/07/keir-starmer-speech-trump-us-tariff-turmoil-car-industry-uk-politics-latest-updates-news
Author : Andrew Sparrow
Publish date : 2025-04-07 09:20:00
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