Yahoo Finance Net zero ban on petrol cars is wrong, says Aston Martin owner
The boss of Aston Martin has branded a net zero ban on petrol cars “premature” as global demand founders for electric vehicles (EVs).
Lawrence Stroll, the Canadian billionaire owner of the luxury British marque, claimed the push towards EVs was currently supported more by “hype” than real consumer demand.
Many buyers are simply not interested in buying battery-powered cars despite government incentives, he said, with a lack of charging infrastructure partly to blame.
His comments came as new figures showed record numbers of rapid EV chargers were deployed in the UK last month, but carmakers including Volkswagen and Mercedes warned of an electric car sales slowdown in Europe.
Speaking to journalists at Aston Martin’s headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, Mr Stroll said: “We’ve just felt a real lack of consumer demand… and we’ve seen and listened and read and heard what all the other big [carmakers] are going through in terms of pulling back – that it’s just not happening at this pace and time.
“Do I ultimately think we all get there? Yes. Do I think it’s going to happen as initially planned? Most definitely not.”
He added: “Obviously, [legislation] was premature. We don’t have the charging abilities put in place to deliver the initial time expectations, nor the demand.
“So you know, politically, you cannot drive consumer demand. Let me put it like that.
“Consumer demand will be what consumer demand is, and that does not necessarily – as proven in this – follow legislation.”
Asked whether he expected Aston Martin to ever completely stop producing petrol cars, providing there was demand for them in some countries, he said: “As long as we’re allowed legally to keep making them, we will keep making them.”
Mr Stroll’s comments come just months after the UK government brought into force the so-called zero emissions vehicle mandate, which forces manufacturers to sell increasingly higher proportions of EVs.
At least 22pc of their cars sold must be electric this year, with the target ratcheting up annually to reach 80pc by 2030. A total ban on new petrol car sales will then follow in 2035.
As a smaller manufacturer, Aston is not bound by the sales targets but will be forced to comply with the 2035 ban.
Bigger carmakers who fail to reach the required level of EV sales will face fines or be required to buy and trade carbon credits.
It comes after Mr Stroll earlier this year delayed the launch of Aston Martin’s first pure EV from 2025 to at least 2027 due to a lack of demand.
Instead, the company is developing hybrid versions of a number of its models, including sports cars and its SUV, and use these as a “bridge” to electrification.
Separately on Wednesday, Anthony Browne, minister for decarbonisation of transport, pointed to new rollout figures for EV charging infrastructure as proof that coverage was improving.
Driving organisations including the RAC have warned that “range anxiety” – along with high prices – continues to be one of the biggest put-offs for many would-be EV buyers.
Figures published by ZapMap showed that 2,687 public chargers were deployed in March, the largest ever monthly increase. That took the total to 59,670 charging devices – 49pc more than last April.
Mr Browne said: There’s never been a better time to make the switch.”
