Just logged onto TOPIx to see if any updates on the revised RRS MY18 engines and noticed they have added the diesel range of engines to the drop down list. These were not listed last week so good to see they haven't scrapped the diesel engines just yet. ( I have ordered a SDV6 AB for Sept ).

Looks as if they are the same as the 2017 range and no mention yet of any hybrid or electric version. However things may change as the production on the MY18 becomes clearer.

After seeing the news this morning on the new rules for 2020 and beyond for diesel cars and the so called 'city pollution fines'. I wonder which options the local councils will adopt when it comes to charges or improvements on traffic congestion...

It is unbelievable that the government are to announce such a clearly defined date when there is no certainty of the battery technology being available (especially for long journeys), no charging infrastructure, no answer to the high-speed charging issue, and no electricity generation capacity to cope with the demand. I only hope it is intended more to kick-start faster progress on these issues rather than being supposed to be a real deadline. Furthermore, manufacturers would have to stop making i.c.e. cars long before this date to avoid having unsalable cars, so "the end is nigh"!

It's seems a reoccurring theme with the government. Announcing major legislations without having a clue what will happen on the lead up to it, or ensuring they have the right infrastructure in place to be able carry them out once it comes into force.....

It does seem the engine design team at LR are falling behind compared to other car manufacturers who are being a lot more proactive.

There also appears to be confusion about whether hybrid cars would be permissible. Volvo are being quoted as an example, but as far as I understand they will continue to manufacture hybrids, so i.c.e. will not be phased out entirely. Is our government just getting mixed up, or are they really ruling out hybrids by 2040 as well?? (When France made a similar announcement a few weeks ago, my first thought was thank God that we have more sense - clearly I was wrong!).

It's also instructive to read about where the "40,000 extra deaths a year" actually comes from, and its statistical uncertainties.

See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39129270

That seems more like a long-winded definition of the word 'guesswork'.

I think your spot on there Donny as how the hell can they relate those death figures based on data from the USA and compare it to the UK.

If it was causing so many deaths than surely VW and alike would be held accountable to some extend as a contributing factor towards this death toll, due to "diesel gate" emissions.....

Surely the government are not "scaremongering" the general public again...

It has been a govt expectation for some time that all new vehicles after 2050 will be zero emission. This latest announcement seems to say that they wish to mandate zero emission for new cars and vans by 2040, which is not a great surprise.

Beware the ability of journalists to get a story completely round their necks too.

What is not clear is whether plug-in hybrids are part of this vision, or if it is genuinely zero emission. There are also question marks over heavy vehicles, but potential technical solutions include improved battery technology, hydrogen fuel cells (currently cost prohibitive), bio gas (subject to volume limitations at present) and inductive charging.

We are talking about a date 23 years hence. if you think back 23 years, who would have dreamt of the impact of the internet? or in automotive terms, about gasoline direct injection, or plug-in hybrids? A lot can change. Just so long as I can keep driving my Model T Ford !!!

Just listening to World at One on BBC iPlayer while in Namibia and the village Environmental Idiot Gove was on and he stated no NEW diesel or Petrol cars available to buy after 2050, I would think that is plenty of notice for current owners to be thinking twice about what fuel their next car should run on - I don't expect that I will be able to afford to insure any car as I will be 93 in 2050. The only electric vehicle I expect to be allowed to drive is an electric wheelchair
Martha Carney has just interviewed James May about his experience with his BMWi3............... he is in North Oxfordshire today and it was just a bit far to get there and back with out a recharge and with the sketchy network of working charging points and so many being occupied by Milkfloat Man he had to take his Porsche............. but he would have taken his Ferrari had it not been a bit too wet to be driving that safely today.......... pretty poor excuse for not being able to use a fezza, what's the point of having one in the UK if a bit of rain makes it too dangerous to drive on our roads, it rains a lot in the UK as we know! 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Black Bess, I take your point to some extent, although I had a fuel injected petrol car in 1983, there were electric milk floats in the 1950s.....and I still haven't got broadband at home!!

The infrastructure necessary to charge millions of cars is a huge undertaking, and, unless you charge at home or at work, how would you keep charged on a long journey without a major delay, assuming there were sufficient charging points in the first place? (And, apart from being annoying, the lack of rural broadband points up the gap between infrastructure intentions and actual reality even after many years).

The government currently seem to be excluding all forms of internal combustion, so I don't know the future for hybrids let alone gas (bio or otherwise).

Will be interesting what they choose to charge tax on once they loose the duty they presently charge on petrol and diesel and the loss of VED bands for emissions....... 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Tim in Scotland wrote:

the village Environmental Idiot Gove

Bringing him back into government even makes Mrs May's decision to call a snap election look like a good idea!

Tim in Scotland wrote:

Will be interesting what they choose to charge tax on once they loose the duty they presently charge on petrol and diesel and the loss of VED bands for emissions.......

The government and local councils will always find a way of introducing a new inflated tax levy for the pleasure of us being forced into electric cars.

The electric engine has a long way to go to before it can replace the traditional combustion engine. However, I guess they have a good few years to solve them and come up with one that will hold it's charge long enough to cover long trips. It's not very practical having to stop off every so often and sit around waiting for it to charge again before setting off....

Batteries can hold enough charge these days for up to 320 miles of non-stop journey and that range is increasing all the time as battery technology evolves. But like fossil fuelled ICE'd cars, if you drive them like a racing car that range drops off very rapidly and also cold weather decreases the range hence Jaguar and Tesla providing battery heating systems for their latest cars.
There is an item in the latest issue of Autocar about buying late plate used EV's and they say that even if you have to pay monthly battery rental (all Renault/ Nissans) the £50-70 a month fee is still less than what you spend on fuel in the same month for most people. Also buying a Renault Zoe or Nissan Leaf but NOT any of the cars where you buy the battery out right with the car (Tesla, BMW. Hyundai et al) then with those two cars that rental also includes the cost of replacement batteries when the battery pack storage efficiency drops below 75% - with all the others you have to foot the bill privately for replacement batteries.......... Consider this, a 2 year old 24000 mile Renault Zoe / Nissan Leaf will cost you about £4500, then you pay £50-70 (Renault takes £50 and Nissan £70) monthly battery rental and maybe another £50 for recharging the battery then you are quid's in. That is on 2nd hand EV's - new ones suffer horrific depreciation but only until people looking for a cheap to run EV latch on. One problem with older EV's is that the battery range often is 80-90 miles MAX where as the latest ones have a couple of hundred miles range. Additionall servicing and other running costs are lower for EV's and most can now be given an 80% charge on a rapid charger in 30-45 minutes - the long times quoted are if you plug into a 13 amp socket at home which most EV owners don't do they buy a home charging rapid charger. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Tim I hope you're not building up to inform us all you have ordered a Renault Zoe... Those are one ugly car, plus how are you going to pull someone out stuck in a field like you do in your RRS.