Why Government Policy Will Kill the UK Motorcycle Market #motorcycles
The government has already said that it will end the sale of new nonzero tailpipe emission cars and vans the decision for motorcycles is not yet confirmed recently the headlines told us that the will be delayed from 2030 till 2035 for cars but still there is no decision made for
Motorcycles there is still time to stop this ruinous policy this is no time for complacency several Prime Ministers ago the UK government consulted on ending the sale of new non-zero tailpipe emission cars and vans they decided did after Consulting on a date of 2035 that they would do this 5 years earlier by
2030 the mechanism for doing this would be a gradual but enforced phase out of petrol and diesel vehicle sales with a zero emission vehicle zdv Mandate of course This only affects cars and vans so nothing for us bikers to worry about right wrong in 2022 the government launched a consultation on
Ending the sale of new non-zero tailpipe permission L category Vehicles again L category vehicles are not motorcycles so we’re fine right wrong L category Vehicles covers a wide range of vehicles including sycl c5s to Tiny lightweight cars the motorcycle industry is Association which seems to want to Rebrand itself as the powered light
Vehicle industry Association readily admits that the overwhelming majority of lcat vehicles are motorcycles mopeds and scooters so the use of terminology such as lcad vehicles plvs ptws or any other alphabet spaghetti acronym really means they are talking about us but they pushed the date back to 2035
For cars so they will delay the date for bikes automatically too right wrong despite the headlines stating the 2030 date for cars is going back to 2035 they have continued to enact the Z mandate without Amendment the zdv Mandate for cars and vans comes into effect next year yes in
202 4 the mandated phase out of petrol and diesel cars and vans begins in 2024 22% of all new cars sold in the UK must be electric the proportion then ratchets up each year until 2030 when 80% of all cars must be electric until the delay to 2035 was
Announced the remaining 20% in 203 would have needed to be hybrids but there is now a little less Clarity on what the 20% of new vehicles can be between 2030 and 2035 and of course that 20% is still a declining proportion to zero in 2035 if manufacturers don’t meet their
Quotas They will receive fines for every petrol and diesel vehicle sold over that Year’s quota those fines will not come out of profit margins they will simply be added to the cost of petrol and diesel cars despite the fact that the government has still not made its final
Announcement the same Zev mandate is likely to be applied to lcat Vehicles yes that means us what are the proposed dates for elcat vehicles well if motorcycle terms the proposed dates for ending IC motorcycles are 2030 for anything you can ride on a CBT or 2035 for all larger
Bikes those were the proposals but remember the government proposed 2035 for cars then decided to go with 2030 the 2035 date originally proposed for larger bikes is now in line with the delayed to date announced by current PM rishy sunak labor have said that they will restore the 2030 date if they win
The general election what do you think the likely outcome will be for motorcycles so if the Zev mandate is applied to motorcycles what will the first year of the phase out look like for the smaller bikes that can be ridden on a CBT and scheduled to be all
Electric by 2030 mcia figures show that the proportion of electric bike sold in 2023 was approximately 8% so under a first year Mandate of 22% electric the manufacturers would be fined for 14% of all CBT bikes sold in the first year of a motorcycle zv mandate for larger bikes it is even more
Dire despite the 2035 proposed date for all electric the Zev mandate would most likely be the same 22% quota in year 1 in 2023 just 0.6% of larger bikes sold were electric so on that basis the manufacturers will be fined for over 21% of all larger bikes
Sold but the numbers of electric bikes being sold is increasing right wrong mcia figures for CBT bikes show that 12% were Electric in 2021 declining to 8% in 2023 for larger bikes 0.8% were Electric in 2021 declining to 0.6% in 2023 whichever way you look at it the electric bikes are actually losing
Market share but the governments say they are technology neutral so we could have hydrogen or synthetic fuels in ic bikes right wrong despite the fact that all manufacturers are experimenting with a range of other Technologies from E fuels and hydrogen to more efficient petrol engines the wording of the Zev mandate
States vehicles must be zero emissions at the tailpipe all rhetoric refers to electric vehicles the reality is that any form of internal combustion does produce emissions of some sort at the tailpipe there will be no need for a tailpipe otherwise the mcia are working with the government on a plv action
Plan the plan is to deliver zero tailpipe emissions despite manufacturers saying the battery electric has a role to play but cannot be the entire solution at meetings with Jesse Norman then minister of transport decarbonization it was unsurprising to hear major manufacturers saying that they will potentially withdraw from the
UK Market if they can only sell less than 1% of their current offerings in the UK market and will be actively blocked from selling any of the new technologies they are developing why bother mag will not change its position on this topic the plans to end the sale of internal combustion engine Vehicles
Will be disastrous for the UK motorcycle Market we will not stand by and let this happen don’t be Hoodwinked by claims of tech technology neutrality or Pike dreams of the sector being recognized as a future transport solution actions speak louder than words actions already taken for cars and planned for motorcycles will kill
Motorcycling in the UK unless we stop the IC ban we are literally in the fight to prevent the end of motorcycling in the UK if you have any interest or passion for the future of UK motorcycling join mag now we won’t roll over will You
How the ICE Ban policy will end motorcycling.
The government has already said that it will end the sale of new “non zero tailpipe emission cars and vans”. The decision for motorcycles is not yet confirmed. Recently the headlines told us that the ban would be delayed from 2030 till 2035 for cars. But still there is no decision made for motorcycles.
There is still time to stop this ruinous policy. This is no time for complacency.
Don’t be hoodwinked by claims of technology neutrality or pipedreams of the sector being recognised as a future transport solution. Actions speak louder than words. Actions already taken for cars, and planned for motorcycles will kill motorcycling in the UK unless we can stop the ICE Ban.
We are literally in the fight to prevent the end of motorcycling in the UK. If you have any interest or passion for the future of UK motorcycling, join MAG now at https://mag-uk.org/
We won’t roll over, will you?
To learn more about what action The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) are taking visit: https://operation-earthquake.mag-uk.org/
MAG are a riders rights organisation who represent the interests of all UK riders. As we are a not-for-profit organisation, the money we raise through memberships and donations goes into our campaigning. We also offer many member benefits such as a bi-monthly magazine and a range of exclusive discounts on services from motorcycle insurance to ferries, to give our members the best value for money. If you would like to show your support, please sign up here: https://mag-uk.org/
