When will each car company stop selling petrol and diesel cars in the UK?

The sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the UK from 2030.

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Between 2030 and 2035, new cars and vans can be sold if they have the capability to drive a ‘significant distance’ with zero emissions, although the government hasn’t confirmed what constitutes a significant distance.

A few manufacturers have announced plans to stop selling petrol and diesel cars ahead of the ban. We reveal the story so far.

Smart – now

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Smart is ahead of the game, having switched to all-electric power in Europe and the USA. Mercedes-Benz and Geely will unveil a Smart electric SUV later this year. Daniel Lescow, Smart’s vice-president of global sales, said on LinkedIn: “It may come as a surprise to some: Smart will enter the market with a fully electric SUV – spacious yet compact. This will be the first vehicle of the joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely, due out in 2022, built in China.”

Tesla – now

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There’s no need for Tesla to adjust its sales strategy, because the American company is 100 percent electric. The current range includes the Model 3, Model S and Model X, with the Model Y likely to arrive in the UK next year. The compact SUV is expected to offer 314 miles of electric range.

Jaguar – 2025

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Jaguar is to be reinvented as a pure electric car brand by 2025 with a “dramatically beautiful” range of new cars. CEO Thierry Bollore told Motoring Research his personal car is currently a Jaguar I-Pace. “It is a great car… we have plenty of ideas to make it even better.” Sister company Land Rover has confirmed that it will launch six pure electric variants in the next five years, with the first all-electric model arriving in 2024.

Lotus – late 2020s

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Lotus will shift to being an all-electric brand by the late 2020s. This is according to a quote from CEO Matt Windle published on the Automotive News Europe website. The decision was made in 2018 after positive feedback. “We took the decision to go straight to EVs after the Emira, which was already in development,” he said.

Volkswagen – TBC

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“In the year 2026 will be the last product start on a combustion engine platform,” VW strategy chief Michael Jost told an automotive summit in 2018. A spokesperson confirmed that the German giant will focus on electric cars instead. This doesn’t mean that VW will stop selling petrol and diesel cars ahead of the 2030 ban, but it paves the way for a radical move.

Bentley – TBC

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Bentley will switch its entire model to offer exclusively plug-in hybrid or battery electric vehicles by 2026, and pure electric vehicles by 2030. This sees it move from being the largest producer of 12-cylinder petrol engines to having no internal combustion engines within a decade.

Ford – 2030

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You’ll almost certainly be able to buy a Ford with an internal combustion engine right up until the 2030 ban, but the company has laid out its path to zero. By mid-2026, 100 percent of its passenger car range will be zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid, moving to pure electric by 2030.

Mini – 2030

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Currently, the only pure electric Mini you can buy is the Mini Electric, but everything looks set to change. The last Mini with an internal combustion engine will arrive in 2025, before the company goes fully electric by 2030. New pure electric versions of the Mini Hatch and Countryman are scheduled to launch in 2023.

Volvo – 2030

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Volvo’s electric strategy dovetails with the UK’s ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. The company says it plans to be fully electric by 2030, phasing out any cars with an internal combustion engine, including hybrids. “To remain successful, we need profitable growth. So instead of investing in a shrinking business, we choose to invest in the future – electric and online,” said Hakan Samuelsson, Volvo chief executive.

Citroen, Peugeot, DS Automobiles and Vauxhall – 2030

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These four brands, now under the ownership of Stellantis, build cars that use many common components. One example is the Peugeot e-208 and Vauxhall Corsa-e electric cars. A spokesperson for the company told Motoring Research: “We have no current plans to stop any sales ahead of legislation. All of our brands are committed to electrifying our respective car and vans ranges in the coming few years and our consumers will decide what powertrains that they want. We respond to their changing needs.”

BMW – TBC

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BMW Group told us it expects fully-electric models to account for at least 50 percent of global deliveries by 2030. The company will have 13 all-electric models on the road from 2023, with at least one all-electric model offered in approximately 90 percent of the company’s current market segments. The BMW Group includes BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce.

Kia – TBC

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Kia told Motoring Research it’s too early to say when it will sell its last internal combustion engine in the UK, but the company is already set to meet its 95g/km emissions target this year. The company’s EV portfolio includes the e-Niro, Soul EV and forthcoming EV6.

Mazda – 2030

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Mazda told us it does not intend to cease UK sales of petrol and diesel cars ahead of the 2030 ban. It says it believes ‘a multi-solution approach that combines different technologies is the best way forward to reducing CO2 emissions. Electrification is a key pillar within Mazda’s multi-solution approach and by 2030 all Mazda vehicles will be electrified in some form. While electric vehicles are important to reducing CO2, we will still need internal combustion engines to power the majority of cars today and in the coming years.’

Suzuki – 2030

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Like Mazda, Suzuki has no plans to stop selling cars with an internal combustion engine ahead of 2030 and already offers a 100 percent hybrid model range with one plug-in hybrid model available. Suzuki stopped selling diesel engined models in the UK in 2017 due to limited demand.

Mercedes-Benz

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Mercedes-Benz says it will launch three new electric cars in 2021. However, the company is unwilling to comment on any plans to stop selling petrol and diesel cars ahead of the 2030 ban.

MG – TBC

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MG sells two EVs: the ZS EV and MG 5 estate car. It told us there’s no plan to cease petrol and diesel sales ahead of the ban, but that an early move to 100 percent electric wouldn’t be a ‘surprise’.

Renault – 2030

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Renault told us it will stop selling petrol and diesel cars in the UK in 2030. There’s no word on whether the date will be brought forward.

Aston Martin – 2030

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In a recent Financial Times article, Aston Martin chairman Lance Stroll said the company will continue to build internal combustion engines well into the next decade. That said, it will build its first EV in the UK from 2025. Everything points to the ability to buy an Aston Martin with a petrol engine until legislation says otherwise.

Toyota and Lexus – TBC

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Toyota said it was ‘probably a bit too far forward to provide any definitive response at this stage’. By 2025, the company will offer more than 70 electrified vehicles, including at least 15 pure electric cars.

Nissan – TBC

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Nissan says all its ‘new vehicle offerings’ in key markets will be electrified by the early 2030s. “We’re determined to help create a carbon-neutral society and accelerate the global effort against climate change,” said Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida. The company hasn’t confirmed if it will stop selling petrol and diesel cars before the 2030 ban.

Honda – TBC

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Honda recently announced that it wants its range to be 100 percent battery or hydrogen powered in major markets by 2040. It also intends to offer solid state battery technology in its new EVs by the late 2020s.

Other companies

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Other car companies, including Audi, Skoda, Fiat and Jeep, haven’t responded to our request for information. We will update this list as news develops.