Andy Burnham has been urged to introduce a "scrappage scheme" for the first time in 17 years to speed up the process of removing petrol and diesel vehicles from the road.
Back in 2009, former Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling announced that cars and vans at least 10 years old would qualify for a grant towards a new vehicle. Under the scheme, motorists received the equivalent of £2,000, with £1,000 coming from the UK Government and £1,000 matched by participating car manufacturers.
Effectiveness of the 2009 Scheme
The move prompted road users to ditch their older vehicles, with data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showing that almost 400,000 cars were pulled off the roads.
Dr Leah-Nani Alconcel, a University of Birmingham professor and planetary exploration engineer, stressed that the 2009 scheme was "extremely effective" and suggested a similar idea could speed up the EV transition. Speaking exclusively to The Express, Dr Leah-Nani said: "Consumers need incentives to convert to electric vehicles. The 2009 scrappage scheme was extremely effective in removing older petrol and diesel vehicles from the roads, and a similar initiative could accelerate the process considerably."
Recent Local Scrappage Programmes
Local scrappage schemes were already introduced in many areas, with a programme in Birmingham closing earlier this year. This offered packages of up to £4,000 for eligible low-income workers and residents to scrap high-polluting models.
London also ran a ULEZ vehicle scrappage scheme to help motorists make the transition, with applications open from the start of 2023 to September 2024. Transport for London (TfL) has claimed that the scrappage programme helped to remove or upgrade almost 54,000 older, polluting vehicles from London's streets.
Future Timeline and Impact
The UK is set to ban the sale of brand new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, with only hybrids allowed up until 2035. ZEV Mandate goals also state that at least 80% of vehicles should be EVs by the end of the decade.
With this timeline, Dr Leah-Nani claims that it could still take 20 years for combustion models to be off the road. She told the Express: "Existing cars can still be driven and sold after that, though. Cars typically stay on the road for well over a decade, so without intervention most second-hand petrol and diesel cars would not disappear until the mid-to-late 2040s."
