In an open letter to the EC, EU governments and the European Parliament over 40 major companies and organisations have called for a ban on new diesel and petrol vehicles by 2035.

Companies including Coca-Cola, Ikea, SAP, Sky and Uber, supported by ShareAction and EV100 are asking for Continental Europe to move forward plans to ban sales of new ICE cars and vans, bringing legislation to the UK’s promise to stop sales by 2030.

The letter asks that the “EU plays it part” in halving emissions this decade, pointing out that cars and light commercial vehicles account for 15 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions in Europe and the largest source (26 per cent) of nitrogen oxide emissions.

It argues that now that electric vehicles offer comparative performance and are cost-effective there is no reason to allow light ICE powered vehicles on the road. The signatories include hybrids in this call.

In order to achieve this a charging infrastructure should be speeded up under a ‘master plan’ and policymakers should ensure manufacturers and their supply chain invest – and funds and incentives could be used to do this, and for consumers too.

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