Is the Government on Track to Phase Out New Petrol and Diesel Cars?

A policy that keeps changing lanes

If you've felt confused about when exactly you'll be banned from buying a new petrol or diesel car, you're not alone. The date has moved at least twice in the last five years, been fought over by two different governments, and is currently the subject of ongoing scrutiny by the independent fact-checking organisation Full Fact, which is tracking whether ministers are keeping their promise to restore the original 2030 cut-off.

It sounds like a simple deadline. In practice, it's become one of the most politically contested dates in British motoring policy, and the uncertainty is having real consequences for anyone trying to decide when to buy their next car.

What happened

Full Fact's government tracker has turned its attention to a specific pledge: Labour's commitment, made before the 2024 general election, to restore the 2030 deadline for ending the sale of new petrol and diesel-only cars. This matters because that deadline had already been set once, scrapped once, and is now supposedly being reinstated.

Here's the timeline in full. Back in November 2020, Boris Johnson's government announced, as part of its Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, that sales of new purely petrol and diesel cars would end in 2030. Hybrids that could travel a "significant distance" on electric power alone were given a stay of execution until 2035.

Then, in September 2023, Rishi Sunak pushed the ban back to 2035, arguing that the pace of change was placing an unfair burden on ordinary drivers and that the UK should align more closely with other major economies, including the EU's own 2035 target at the time.

Labour opposed that delay and, once in power from July 2024, pledged to restore the original 2030 date. Full Fact's tracker exists precisely to check whether that promise is being delivered, and its analysis suggests the picture is more complicated than a simple yes or no. The mechanics of the phase-out, and the flexibilities built into it, mean the practical effect on manufacturers and buyers is still being worked out through consultation and secondary legislation rather than a single clean cut-off.

Why it matters

This isn't just a technicality for policy wonks. The 2030/2035 debate sits at the heart of a genuine tension in UK transport and climate policy: how fast can the country realistically move to zero-emission vehicles without pricing ordinary drivers out of the market or crashing the domestic car industry?

The phase-out date doesn't exist in isolation. It works alongside the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, the mechanism that actually forces change by requiring manufacturers to ensure a rising percentage of the new cars they sell each year are zero-emission, with targets increasing annually towards 2030 and beyond. Miss the target, and manufacturers face fines or must buy credits from rivals who've overdelivered. This is the sharp end of the policy, and it's why carmakers have been so vocal about wanting flexibility, something we've covered in detail when looking at whether the UK might soften its 2030 EV sales target and how manufacturers have urged a rethink of the 2035 plans.

For drivers, the stakes are practical rather than abstract. Uncertainty over the date affects:

• New car pricing and availability, since manufacturers plan production years in advance and need clarity to invest in UK factories
• Resale values of petrol and diesel cars, which could shift depending on how firm the eventual deadline turns out to be
• The used car market, which is already seeing strong growth in electric and hybrid volumes without ICE demand disappearing
• Household budgeting decisions, particularly for anyone considering whether to buy a new combustion car now or wait

Full Fact's role here is valuable precisely because it cuts through the political noise. Governments of both colours have used this deadline as a totem, something to either champion as proof of green ambition or dismantle as proof of pragmatism. A neutral tracker matters when the target itself has already moved twice.

The legal angle

It's worth being precise about what this phase-out actually is, because "ban" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in newspaper headlines. The 2030 (or 2035) cut-off applies only to the sale of new petrol and diesel-only cars by manufacturers and dealers. It is not retrospective, and it does not touch:

• Existing petrol and diesel cars already on the road, which you remain free to own, drive, insure and eventually sell
• The used car market, where petrol and diesel vehicles will continue to be bought and sold long after any cut-off date
• MOT testing requirements, which are unaffected by the phase-out policy
• Hybrid vehicles, which under current plans can still be sold new until 2035 even if the pure ICE deadline is restored to 2030

The legal architecture behind the phase-out runs through the Automotive Transport (Zero Emission Vehicles) Act 2024 and associated secondary legislation implementing the ZEV mandate. This is a regulatory obligation placed on manufacturers, not a criminal prohibition placed on drivers. No one is going to receive a penalty notice for owning a diesel Golf in 2032. The consequences, if any, fall on carmakers who fail to hit their zero-emission sales quotas, not on the person browsing the forecourt.

That distinction matters because it shapes what "on track" actually means in Full Fact's analysis. The government could technically restore the 2030 date on paper while granting manufacturers so many flexibilities, such as generous hybrid allowances or the ability to bank and borrow credits between years, that the practical effect on showroom choice is barely noticeable. Conversely, a tougher mandate with fewer flexibilities could bite hard on model availability even if the headline date stays the same.

What drivers should know

If you're weighing up your next car purchase, here's what's actually relevant to your decision right now, rather than the political theatre around it:

You won't be forced off the road. Whatever happens with the phase-out date, nobody is going to take away your existing petrol or diesel car, and there is no proposal to do so. This is purely about what manufacturers can sell as new from a future date.

Hybrids remain a safe middle ground. Under every version of this policy so far, hybrid vehicles capable of meaningful electric-only range have had a longer runway than pure petrol or diesel cars. If you're not ready to go fully electric but want to future-proof your next purchase, this is worth factoring in.

Don't panic-buy based on headlines. The date has moved before and the consultation process around ZEV mandate flexibilities is ongoing. Decisions made in response to a headline that later gets revised could leave you with a car you didn't need to rush into.

Watch the incentives, not just the ban. Government support for switching to electric, including grant schemes for eligible new EVs, is arguably more relevant to your household budget in the near term than a sales cut-off that's still years away. It's worth checking which models currently qualify for the latest electric car grant before assuming a petrol car is your only affordable option.

Consider the used market. With used electric and hybrid volumes rising steadily, there are now more ways to make the switch without buying new, whatever the eventual phase-out date turns out to be.

If you're unsure how any of this affects a specific purchase, lease agreement or company car decision, it's worth speaking to a dealer or independent financial adviser who can walk through the detail relevant to your circumstances, rather than relying on headline dates alone.

Looking ahead

Full Fact's tracker will likely keep updating as the government works through its consultation on ZEV mandate flexibilities and confirms exactly how the restored 2030 date will apply in practice. Expect further announcements addressing how much wiggle room manufacturers get, whether hybrid allowances are extended or tightened, and how compliance will be enforced.

The broader lesson for drivers is that "the ban" is less a single fixed wall and more a moving regulatory dial that governments have adjusted twice already and could adjust again. Staying informed through independent trackers like Full Fact's, rather than reacting to whichever version of the story a headline chooses to emphasise, is the most sensible way to plan a car purchase in what remains a genuinely unsettled policy landscape.