Rishi Sunak faces backlash over step back from Net Zero promises
Wheeler Dealers host Mike Brewer has claimed he was “right” over Rishi Sunak’s handling of the 2030 petrol and diesel car ban.
The TV host said he had known the Government was unlikely to meet its 2030 deadline hours after it was revealed the Prime Minister would push back on the plan.
Ministers were set to prohibit the sale of new combustion vehicles from 2030 but this will now come in 2035.
Brewer made his feelings clear this morning as he weighed in on the issue through social media.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, he said: “I’ve been repeatedly saying that this government won’t meet its target of removing ICE vehicles for sale by 2030. Looks like I was right !! they are gonna kick the can down the road.”
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Brewer had raised fears over the 2030 target last year in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk.
Speaking last March, the 49-year-old claimed more infrastructure would be needed before the country could ditch petrol and diesel vehicles.
He explained: “What we are going to see when we move towards 2030, I’ve got a funny feeling that the deadline from the Government is going to slide.
“We’re nowhere ready for the electrification of cars on our roads. We simply haven’t got enough resources or charging points to do that yet.
“It would be a civil engineering project on the scale of HS2 times 10 to get the amount of infrastructure we need in place that we need to cope.”
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Brewer had also raised a series of concerns when news of the 2030 deadline first came out back in November 2020.
Speaking on his Mike Brewer Motoring YouTube channel, the host discussed the effect on classic car owners and worries about a lack of electric car charging stations.
Almost three years ago, Mr Brewer explained: “I’m a little bit shocked in terms of the dates. That it’s sooner rather than later… I have one charger in my area.
“One charger that is capable of charging a (Porsche) Tacan just a fraction of what the cars capable of.”
Mr Sunak defended the delay in a speech in Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon.
He commented: “To give us more time to prepare I’m announcing today we are going to ease the transition to electric vehicles.
“You’ll still be able to buy petrol and diesel cars and vans until 2035. Even after that, you’ll still be able to buy them second-hand.
“We are aligning our approach with countries like Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Australia, Canada, Sweden.”
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