An award-winning British fuel tech company today called for immediate action to reduce the environmental impact of cars, after one leading manufacturer said drivers should hold onto their old vehicles for longer.
BMW’s head of sustainability Monika Dernai said the automotive industry could reduce waste by encouraging people to keep their existing cars and fit them with upgrades to keep them fresh instead of constantly buying new models.
And, with evidence that the cost of living crisis and high energy prices are already slowing the sale of electric cars, that could mean many more petrol and diesel cars on the roads beyond 2030, said Nawaz Haq, from fuel tech firm SulNOx Group Plc.
All new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans are set to be banned from sale in the UK after 2030. New hybrids will be allowed until 2035.
“Banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars in 2030 will not suddenly see them disappear from the roads,” said Mr Haq. “In fact, with the current pressures on people’s incomes likely to last for some time to come, we may well see people holding onto their cars for longer – EVs are already prohibitively expensive for many people.
“Now we have BMW, one of the leading car manufacturers in the world, telling people to keep hold of their cars and, much like a house, do up the inside to keep it feeling fresh.
“Rather than wait for alternatives like electric vehicles to dominate the market, we need to tackle the emissions of current petrol and diesel cars today. This is even more crucial because of emerging evidence that acting slowly causes more harm than acting right away.”
Mr Haq pointed to research by data analyst Ketan Joshi which looked at different scenarios for reaching net zero by 2050. His analysis showed that leaving meaningful action until just before the 2050 deadline meant far more emissions being released up to that date.
“Time is of the essence,” said Mr Haq. “We know there are a lot of alternative solutions to fossil fuels being worked on, and that is absolutely as it should be, but many of these are years, if not decades, away from having a significant impact, and what nobody is talking about is the damage that is being done in the meantime. The net zero deadline of 2050 is a generation away and the harm that could be done in that time is immeasurable.”
London-based SulNOx Group specialises in providing responsible solutions towards decarbonisation of liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Through extensive real-world road tests, its all-natural SulNOxEco™ Fuel Conditioners have been proven to reduce fuel consumption around 10% representing significant reductions in greenhouse gases. The technology also reduces the production of particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5. In tests, its products have been shown to reduce PM2.5 by over 60%.
“We cannot sit on our hands waiting for things to get better,” said Mr Haq. “The vision of roads full of electric cars is many years; and in other parts of the world it is decades. If Governments and business are serious about their net zero ambitions, they need to take action to reduce their impact on the environment now.”
