The UK is planning on utilizing European Union regulations on corporate average carbon dioxide targets as far as passenger vehicles are concerned, despite leaving the EU completely at the end of this year.
A consultation document published by the British government points to proposals that will maintain a regulatory regime “as close to business as usual scenario for manufacturers as possible,” reports Autonews Europe.
Britain voted to leave the European Union back in 2016 in order to deviate from common regulations. However, carmakers have since said that they don’t want to deal with a two-tier system (two separate sets of regulations).
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The British government wants to encourage the sales of electric cars if it is to ban the sale of all vehicles with internal combustion engines (including plug-in hybrids) by 2035.
Now, carmakers will face fines of 86 British pounds instead of 95 euros for every gram of CO2 exceeded. The limit is currently 95 grams per km. Individual carmakers will still base their targets on the average weight of vehicles sold, but instead of looking at fleet weights for the UK, the system will continue to rely on the averages of vehicles sold across the EU.
“The UK fleet is heavier than the EU27’s and therefore moving from the EU fleet average to a UK specific value would immediately make regulatory targets more demanding for all manufacturers,” said the consultation document.
The average weight of cars sold in the UK back in 2018 was 1,466 kg (3,232 lbs), whereas the EU held averages of 1,420 kg (3,130 lbs).
Britain will also keep the EU’s 15% CO2 emission reduction target for cars and vans from 2025, and a 37.5% reduction for cars and 31% for vans come 2030.
