The government has announced the end of petrol, diesel & hybrid cars and have declared no more sales after 2030. That’s just nine years away; how many 2011 cars are on the road currently, private motorist keep their cars a long time, so 9 years isn’t that far away.

Last weeks headlines were inevitable; announcing a  road charging policy to replace the lost tax from fuel sales on electric cars already in use! (As Essex Lifestyle predicted in 2018).

The all electric MG Z EV

This policy does leave a lot of questions that need answering. 

• Can I continue to use my petrol, diesel or hybrid after 2030?
• How do I charge if I haven’t got a suitable property to install a charger?
• What is the lifespan of a battery?
• How much will a new battery cost

Honda E – All Electric

Should I buy an internal combustion engined car now, will it be worthless soon? The other very important point is the cost of all electric cars (EVs). We have all heard of a Tesla but a model s is £73,990! A golf E is just over £31,000 yet a current Golf petrol start at £23,300.

How about a nice little Honda E (Electric) city car at just £29,500. A Honda Jazz list price (Petrol) start at £14,800, that’s half the cost of the Honda E. How about something a little more exotic. The Polstar 2 by Volvo (made in China), £49,900, good looking car though!

The smart looking Polestar

Fact is, if your motoring is based on a visit to your friendly local used car dealer with finance over 3 years then time is running out. If you can find/buy a used EV which at the moment are few and far between, a whole host of issues are attached. Battery lease problems, (another Ł100+ pM) which is on top of the vehicle cost.  If the battery is wholly owned how long will it last? There seems to be no defined period.

So on that basis, how much to replace a battery? Don’t ask! Nissan confirmed the price to replace a Leaf battery is Ł4920!

The Honda E

So going to buy an EV? at the cheapest end of the market a Peugeot E-208 (Electric vehicle) starts at Ł24,000, so I wonder whether leasing is going to become the only comfortable way to run a car in the future. In fact maybe from now on the sensible way will be a lease agreement to avoid the inevitable huge depreciation petrol and diesel engined cars will suffer as we move towards 2030.

An all electric Beetle?