Scottish government clarifies date on new combustion cars sales ban
The date for banning sales of new petrol and diesel cars across the UK is 2030
Mistake in document outlining Scotland's decarbonisation plans suggested date had been pushed back to 2032
The Scottish government has confirmed plans published yesterday to push back the date for when new pure-combustion-powered cars would be banned from sale was incorrect.
In the draft documents, outlining Scotland’s decarbon plans – including a push on renewable energy to power the country while ditching fossil fuels – it suggested a backtrack on the original 2030 date, instead given drivers until 2032 to switch to an electric car.
Today, the government has now confirmed this was, in fact, a typo.
In a statement, it said: “Some of the text of the (draft ESJTP) contained an incorrect reference to phase out dates for petrol and diesel cars and vans. The wording has been reviewed and revised as necessary to reflect the correct commitment to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, rather than 2032.”
As originally reported by The Times, Energy secretary Michael Matheson outlined in the plans that he had concerns over how slowly the country’s charging infrastructure was progressing, coupled with how expensive it now is to run an electric car, given the high price of electricity.
This meant the previous 2030 target of phasing out combustion-powered vehicles was not seen as viable.
The news now means Scotland is in fact still alligned with the rest of the UK, which is still firmly focused on banning the sale of new pure-combustion cars by the end of the decade, as it pushes towards a legal target of cutting greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050. A ban on plug-in and full hybrids will follow by 2035.
A new European Union law, which promises a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars, effectively means member states will also follow by 2035 – despite some countries, such as Germany, refusing to back it.
The overall banning of the sales of new petrol and diesel cars, including hybrid-assisted powertrains, is part of a wider effort to cut planet-heating emissions.
Ahead of the ban, new Euro 7 emission regulations have also been drawn up to make combustion-powered cars released from July 2025 "as clean as possible". These include new electrically heated e-catalysts to mitigate cold-start emissions, and live on-board monitoring of key pollutants.