ANALYSIS: Electric shock - how will the ban on new petrol and diesel cars in 2030 affect the forecourt sector, and can it be achieved?
In one sense it came as no surprise when the UK government finally confirmed its decision to ban the sale of new cars and vans with internal combustion engines (ICEs) from 2030 (although some hybrids have until 2035).
Three cheers for forecourt retailers: Tracy West, retail commentator
Three cheers for the forecourt retailers who have really gone out of their way to help customers during the lockdowns. Of course, many are simply doing the things that they’ve always done but have found a whole new audience thanks to more people shopping locally.
PRA safety warning over EV charger plan
As pressure grows to ban sales of new internal combustion engine and hybrid cars by 2030, the PRA has injected a note of realism about EV chargers on forecourts.
Fuelling the front-line services
Petrol filling stations up and down the country have helped to keep the nation’s emergency services working during the coronavirus lockdown, despite facing some major challenges. Keeping sites open has been vital to provide the fuel for emergency service staff to get to work, and to maintain deliveries to hospitals, ...
Protection is on hand
In just one week, more than 1,000 forecourts globally have taken up Devon-based GripHero’s offer of providing free hand-protection dispensers to protect their customers from the transmission of coronavirus at the fuel pump.
Essential service in virus panic
Fuel retailers have been identified by the government as one of the keys to keeping emergency personnel mobile, and making the transportation of vital supplies possible, during the coronavirus lockdown. But while the fuel retailing industry has been working flat out to ensure it can operate safely for customers and ...
Powering into future mobility
Fuel cell electric vehicles will be the mainstay of vehicles going forward, according to Jon Hunt, manager of alternative fuels at Toyota. During an enthralling presentation at Forecourt Trader’s inaugural Summit at The Belfry Hotel in Sutton Coldfield last month, he told delegates that Toyota believes "pure electrification is not ...
Moving the goalposts
The announcement that the government may bring forward the end of sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans to 2035, or even earlier, has alarmed many stakeholders involved in the automotive industry. The sector has been working towards a target date of 2040 since it was first set ...
Riding crest of the wave into 2020
After MFG got approval for its huge takeover of MRH in 2018, the market was bracing itself for an even bigger deal in 2019, with Sainsbury bidding to take over Asda to become the UK’s biggest fuel retailer by volume. But while the Competition and Markets Authority was willing to ...
Zeroing in with fuels
The government made its commitment to electrification of transport clear in its Road to Zero strategy, which it published in July 2018. The document claimed the government remains ’technology neutral’ but then devoted the majority of its pages to highlighting its support for the development of electric vehicles (EVs) and ...
EVolving the network
Shell is planning to be the first fuel retailer in the UK to take out traditional fuels from an operating service station and replace them with an electric vehicle-only charging hub. An application for planning permission for the development on the company’s site in Fulham, west London, was made at ...