There’s no other place to start than to highlight the remarkable shift in consumer demand from diesel to petrol and/or hybrid vehicles. Courtesy of the failed “dash for diesel” under the last Labour government in the early 2000’s, London-based families are now taking a more environmentally-friendly stance as they wave goodbye to their old diesel-powered Land Rovers and Audi Q7’s. Add in lower yearly taxes and fewer trips to the petrol station and it makes a whole lot of sense financially, too. Interestingly, I recently received a survey from my local council regarding parking – one question asked whether I thought diesel vehicles should have to pay more for on-street parking permits than their petrol or hybrid brethren. Councils have finally learned that diesels equal awful air quality. What this means for old diesels is anyone’s guess (beyond going to auction) but the trend to more environmentally-friendly vehicles for families is in full force. One of the ramifications of this is that we now have an uptick in prices for used petrol family vehicles. But this shouldn’t dissuade you from buying one – quite the opposite – but it might just require a little more research (hello Car Sleuth!).
And what of electric vehicles, you ask? While the abundance of available UK-wide data highlights growing demand and purchases, the reality is that here in London the adoption of pure EVs remains lacklustre. The stumbling blocks for Londoners’ acceptance of EVs is twofold: a shortage of conveniently located public charging stations and the inability to home charge. As such, we’re seeing a slower uptake for Nissan Leafs, BMW i3s and Teslas than elsewhere in the country. However, just last week Mayor Sadiq Khan announced a new EV taskforce whose main aim is to expand the charging infrastructure across the capital. The formation of the taskforce is certainly an important step but until the various bodies (TFL chief amongst them!) learn to work together, it could be a slow burn. Still, it’s a step in the right direction…
