Government should stick to 2030 ban for petrol and diesel, demands Polestar chief
Share:
Stick to 2030 ban for petrol and diesel, says Michael Lohscheller, but bring in purchase and charging incentives. Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller has called on the UK government for stability after years of changing targets on the ban of cars and vans with internal combustion engines.
![[Polestar employs UK staff at its R&D base in Warwickshire]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/22/14/638567_20210914_Polestar_UK_R_D.jpg)
A government consultation on the proposed 2030 ban on petrol and diesel models is currently underway to identify what should be sold after 2030. The government has committed to the banning of petrol and diesel models from 2030, but hybrid models could still be allowed until 2035.
Lohscheller’s stance is hardly surprising. He was formally CEO of Opel and Vauxhall as well as Vietnamese car brand Vinfast, and is now running Polestar, which only makes fully electric cars. Referring to a complete ban on cars that can run on petrol or diesel in 2030, rather than continuing to allow hybrids, he said “yes, this is how it was originally being set up, right?”.
“We can’t change it all the time,” said Lohscheller. “You asked me about our portfolio, our investments. I invest based on certain criteria and if they change all the time, it’s hard, if not impossible to run a business. What we need is stability.”.
Lohscheller agrees with the UK automotive industry trade body SMMT’s suggestions how to boost the take up of EVs among private buyers and was also critical of the government’s proposed extension to the Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) which will add £410 to the annual cost of vehicle excise duty for every EV over the cost of £40,000 for five years, starting in April this year.
