Experts have issued a major warning to all petrol and diesel owners ahead of the UK’s upcoming car ban.
Petrol and diesel cars may be ‘unviable’ after this date (Image: Getty)
Petrol and diesel cars will become “unviable” by the end of the decade, with road users tipped to turn their back on combustion vehicles. Analysis by EV specialists PodPoint has warned that “falling residual values” for petrol and diesel models will make them effectively worthless by 2030.
They suggested that drivers are likely to ditch petrol and diesel vehicles as it is “hard to imagine” why motorists would bother with combustion models when electric car costs drop. The analysis comes ahead of the UK’s upcoming ban on petrol and diesel cars, set to be introduced in 2030.
Petrol vehicle values could fall in the coming years (Image: Getty)
Under the new rule, most manufacturers will be unable to sell brand-new combustion petrol and diesel cars, with only certain exemptions in place. However, PodPoint suggested that most drivers would have already embraced electric models by this stage, especially when upfront costs become more affordable.
They explained: “Electric cars are already cheaper to run than ICE equivalents, and with battery prices continuing to fall, they’ll soon be cheaper to buy as well. In fact, we’re already starting to see some solidly affordable mass-market models with decent ranges arriving.
“Of course, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done to build the charging infrastructure we need to support the mass uptake of electric cars over the next decade. But rest assured, that work is well underway, encouraged by the demand for EVs and our collective need to safeguard the environment and halt climate change.
“So it’s already easy to see why you might buy an EV in 2030, and hard to imagine why you’d bother with an ICE car, even a second-hand one. This means falling residual values will make them unviable, pushing the UK closer to 100% electric sales.”
UK electric car sales are still behind petrol demand (Image: Getty)
Despite the optimism, brand new petrol vehicles are still massively outselling EVs in the UK at this stage. Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed over 937,000 petrol vehicles were sold in 2025, compared to just 473,000 battery electric models.
Just over 100,000 brand new diesel models also left forecourts in 2025, ensuring the vehicles retain at least a 5% market share. However, combustion sales were on the decline, with petrol sales down by 8% and diesel interest declining by 15.6%.
Mike Hawes, president of the SMMT, previously warned that more was needed if EVs were to close the gap.
He previously said: “Rising EV uptake is an undoubted positive, but the pace is still too slow and the cost to industry too high. Government has stepped in with the Electric Car Grant, but a new EV tax, additional charges for EV drivers in London and costly public charging send mixed signals.”
