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Together in electric dreams
© RenaultPure petrol and diesel sales will be outlawed in Britain from 2030, with hybrids to follow from 2035. It’s the biggest step-change in the history of the motor industry, and every marque has its own timeline to respond. So, when will each car company go electric?
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Low-volume lifeline
© BACBritain’s small-volume sports car industry was recently thrown a lifeline with the news that the EU – and most likely the UK – won’t outlaw combustion power for manufacturers who produce less than 1,000 vehicles a year. It means the likes of Morgan and BAC won’t be forced to go fully electric.
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Toyota ‒ TBC
© ToyotaLet’s start with the biggest car company of them all. Toyota doesn’t plan to go fully electric anytime soon. However, the firm has revealed ambitious plans to launch 30 new EVs by 2030. The charge (sorry) is led by the bZ4X family SUV, now in showrooms. Further ahead, Toyota’s EV range will include rugged 4x4s and several sports cars.
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Lexus – 2035
© LexusFor Toyota’s upmarket sister brand, though, the future is fully electric. Lexus aims for 100 percent of its sales in Europe, North America and China to be EVs by 2030 – and all sales globally by 2035. Until now, the company has only offered one electric car: the UX 300e. But the new RZ electric SUV arrives imminently.
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Smart – now
© SmartSmart is ahead of the game, having already switched to electric power in Europe and the USA. As well as the compact EQ Fortwo, pictured above, Smart has recently revealed the #1 (say it ‘hashtag one’) electric crossover – a rival for the MG ZS and Volkswagen ID.3. Decent car, dreadful name…
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DS Automobiles – 2024
© DS AutomobilesDS Automobiles has announced it will only sell electric cars from 2024. The French marque’s electric range is currently limited to the DS 3 E-Tense crossover, but a new EV with a promised 400-mile range is on the way. The pivot to EVs will come six years ahead of the UK government’s 2030 deadline.
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Vauxhall – 2028
© VauxhallLike DS, British brand Vauxhall is part of the Stellantis automotive empire. It says all the vehicles in its range will offer electrified versions by 2024, then be fully electric from 2028. The Ellesmere Port factory in Cheshire, previously home to the Astra, is shifting to EVs as well – starting with the new Combo-e LCV van.
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Jaguar and Land Rover – 2025 and beyond
© JLRThe plan was for Jaguar to be reinvented as a pure electric car brand by 2025. However, the sudden departure of CEO Thierry Bollore in November 2022 means that timeline looks less certain. Sister company Land Rover is on steadier financial ground. It will launch six pure electric vehicles in the next five years, with its first EV arriving in 2024.
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Porsche – 2035
© PorschePorsche will launch a fully electric version of its 718 Boxster and Cayman sports cars in 2025. A luxurious electric SUV, to sit above the Cayenne, is also planned. We expect Porsche to hold off on an electric 911 for as long as possible, though. Who knows, if the company’s research into synthetic e-fuels pays off, perhaps even beyond 2035?
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Lotus – late 2020s
© LotusLotus will shift to being an all-electric brand by the late 2020s.“We took the decision to go straight to EVs after the Emira, which was already in development,” CEO Matt Windle told Automotive News Europe. Excluding the hand-built Evija hypercar, the British company’s first proper production EV is the Eletre SUV.
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Volkswagen – TBC
© VW“In the year 2026 will be the last product start on a combustion engine platform,” VW strategy chief Michael Jost told an automotive summit in 2018. A spokesperson confirmed that the German giant will focus on electric cars instead, including its expanding ID range. This doesn’t mean that VW will stop selling petrol and diesel cars ahead of the 2030 deadline, but it paves the way for a radical move. Expect Skoda and Seat to follow suit.
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Ford – 2030
© FordYou’ll almost certainly be able to buy a Ford with an internal combustion engine right up until the 2030 ban, but the company has laid out its path to zero. By mid-2026, 100 percent of its passenger car range will be zero-emissions capable (i.e. all-electric or plug-in hybrid), moving to electric-only by 2030.
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Mini – 2030
© MiniCurrently, the only pure electric Mini you can buy is the Mini Electric (including a new, and very expensive, convertible version), but everything is set to change. The last Mini with an internal combustion engine will arrive in 2025, before the company goes fully electric by 2030. New electric versions of the Mini Hatch and Countryman are scheduled for launch in 2024.
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Rolls-Royce – 2030
© Rolls-RoyceMeet the electric Rolls-Royce Spectre, due later in 2023. The sleek coupe heralds a new future for Rolls-Royce, which has promised to abandon combustion engines by 2030. Announcing the switch to electrification, CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös said it was: “the most significant day in the history of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars since 4th May 1904,” when the company was founded.
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BMW – TBC
© BMWBMW Group, which owns both Mini and Rolls-Royce, told us it expects fully-electric models to account for at least 50 percent of global deliveries by 2030. The company will have 13 all-electric models on the road from 2023, with at least one all-electric car offered in approximately 90 percent of the company’s current market segments.
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Volvo – 2030
© VolvoVolvo’s electric strategy dovetails with the UK’s ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. The company says it plans to be fully electric by 2030, phasing out any cars with an internal combustion engine, including hybrids. “To remain successful, we need profitable growth. So instead of investing in a shrinking business, we choose to invest in the future – electric and online,” explained former Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson.
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Peugeot and Citroen – 2030
© StellantisWith DS going electric from 2024 and Vauxhall from 2028, their sister Citroen and Peugeot brands in the Stellantis stable could follow suit. However, a Stallantis spokesperson told Motoring Research: “We have no current plans to stop any sales ahead of legislation. All of our brands are committed to electrifying our respective car and van ranges in the coming few years and our consumers will decide what powertrains that they want. We respond to their changing needs.”
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Mazda – 2030
© MazdaMazda told us it does not intend to cease UK sales of petrol and diesel cars ahead of the 2030 ban. It says it believes ‘a multi-solution approach that combines different technologies is the best way forward to reducing CO2 emissions. Electrification is a key pillar within Mazda’s multi-solution approach and by 2030 all Mazda vehicles will be electrified in some form. While electric vehicles are important to reducing CO2, we will still need internal combustion engines to power the majority of cars today and in the coming years.’
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Kia – TBC
© KiaKia told Motoring Research it’s too early to say when it will sell its last internal combustion engine in the UK, but the company is already making great strides with EVs. The Korean marque’s electric portfolio already includes the e-Niro, Soul EV and flagship EV6.
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Hyundai – TBC
© HyundaiAs a huge global brand, Hyundai also isn’t likely to halt production of petrol and diesel engines anytime soon. It certainly isn’t sitting still when it comes to EVs, though, with innovative cars such as the Ioniq 5 – voted World Car of the Year in 2022 – proving that electric cars definitely needn’t be dull.
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Suzuki – 2030
© SuzukiLike Mazda, Suzuki has no plans to stop selling cars with an internal combustion engine ahead of 2030 and already offers a 100 percent hybrid model range, including one plug-in hybrid. Suzuki stopped selling diesel-engined cars in the UK in 2017 due to limited demand.
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MG – TBC
© MGThe new MG4 has been gathering plaudits as a versatile and great-value family EV. The Chinese-owned company told us there is no plan to cease petrol and diesel sales ahead of the ban, but that an early move to 100 percent electric wouldn’t be a ‘surprise’.
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Mercedes-Benz – 2030
© Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz already has its rapidly expanding range of ‘EQ’ electric cars, headed by the sleek EQS saloon seen here. The German giant expects plug-in hybrids and EVs to account for 50 percent of its global sales volume by 2025. CEO Ola Kallenius says Mercedes will switch entirely to electric by 2030, except in small markets where the transition would be difficult.
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Audi – 2032
© AudiLike its Volkswagen parent, Audi will cease development of new internal combustion-engined models after 2026. The next A3 and A4 are both expected to be fully electric, while the future for the TT and R8 sports cars looks bleak. At least the E-tron GT (pictured) is exciting.
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Aston Martin – 2030
© Aston MartinIn a Financial Times article, Aston Martin chairman Lawrence Stroll said the company will continue to build internal combustion engines well into the next decade. That said, it will build its first EV in the UK from 2025. Everything points to the ability to buy an Aston Martin with a petrol engine until legislation says otherwise.
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Ferrari – TBC
© FerrariFerrari has already embraced plug-in hybrids, such as the 296 GTS seen here. But the marque’s first EV could arrive as early as 2025, confirmed CEO Benedetto Vigna. Could it be the hypercar successor to the LaFerrari? Don’t bet against it.
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Nissan – TBC
© NissanNissan says all its ‘new vehicle offerings’ in key markets will be electrified by the early 2030s. “We’re determined to help create a carbon-neutral society and accelerate the global effort against climate change,” said Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida. The company hasn’t confirmed if it will stop selling petrol and diesel cars before the 2030 ban.
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Honda – TBC
© HondaHonda announced that it wants its range to be 100 percent battery or hydrogen powered in major markets by 2040. It also intends to offer (potentially game-changing) solid state battery technology in its new EVs by the late 2020s.
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Fiat – 2030
© FiatFiat has launched an electric version of its 500 city car, seen here. At present, the EV is sold alongside the petrol-powered 500, but Fiat plans to become fully electric by 2030. The forthcoming new Panda, inspired by the clever Centoventi concept car, is likely to be Fiat’s next EV.
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Renault – 2030
© RenaultIf Renault’s electric future looks like this, perhaps car enthusiasts can rest easy. The Renault 5 Prototype is described as ‘the rebirth of a cult car, more modern than ever’ and the company says it will ‘democratise the electric car in Europe’. Expect the real thing by 2025, as one of many new Renault EVs now in the pipeline.
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Bentley – 2030
© BentleyBentley will switch its entire model range to plug-in hybrid or battery-electric vehicles by 2026, then electric vehicles only by 2030. This will see it move, within a decade, from being the world’s largest producer of 12-cylinder petrol engines to having no internal combustion engines at all.
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Lamborghini – 2035
© LamborghiniLamborghini, famed for its raucous multi-cylinder engines, may struggle with the shift to EVs. Nonetheless, its first electric car is due in 2028 – a fourth model to sit alongside the Urus and two supercars. Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann seemed less positive about the prospect of synthetic fuels, telling us: “I wish this is something we could fulfil, perhaps by going racing first. But if the EU bans petrol and diesel engines from 2035, and potentially for companies of our size from 2036, it will not be credible.”
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Tesla – now
© TeslaThere’s no need for Tesla to adjust its sales strategy, of course, because the American company is already 100 percent electric. The Model 3 and Model Y are currently among the UK’s best-selling cars, although the long-term prospects for Tesla seem less certain. Will it lose its early head-start by failing to launch enough new cars? Over to you, Elon…
When will each car company go electric?
The clock is ticking until the UK phases out combustion-engined cars in favour of EVs. But some car companies are going electric much sooner.
