Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of policies on net zero vehicles on petrol and diesel vehicles already in use.

The Government has set out its intention to phase out the sale of new pure petrol and diesel cars from 2030, and to phase out the sale of all new non-zero emission cars and vans from 2035. The Government has no plans to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles already in use or those sold before the phase out dates.

The Government has extensively assessed the impact of transitioning to zero emission vehicles and expects current petrol and diesel vehicle owners to benefit substantially from the lower running costs of switching to an electric vehicle, reduced air pollution, and reduced noise pollution.

The Department for Transport has published analysis of the whole-life environmental impact of electric vehicles available on GOV.UK. The analysis shows that, over their lifetime, electric cars are estimated to save at least 65% of greenhouse gas emissions compared to a petrol equivalent, and that this is likely to rise as renewable energy generation increases.