The ban on petrol and diesel car sales may be further delayed if ministers fail to tackle major barriers to electric vehicle ownership, peers have warned.

A House of Lords committee report says electric car sales are ‘stalling’ among private motorists as many cannot afford them and because of the slow roll-out of public chargers – particularly in rural areas.

It came as industry figures show sales of electric vehicles plummeted by 25 per cent last month, when compared with January 2023.

While sales among businesses grew 42 per cent, it is a major blow to the Government’s target of banning sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 as it needs to convince more than 30million private motorists to make the switch.

Rishi Sunak has already delayed the proposed ban from 2030 to 2035.

Sales of electric vehicles plummeted by 25 per cent last month, when compared with January 2023

The ban on petrol and diesel car sales may be further delayed if ministers fail to tackle major barriers to electric vehicle ownership, peers have warned

A House of Lords committee report says electric car sales are ‘stalling’ among private motorists as many cannot afford them

The Government set a target of installing six chargers at all motorway service stations by the end of 2023.

But this has only been achieved at 33 per cent of locations, chairman of the inquiry Baroness Parminter said.

Meanwhile Paris yesterday called on major cities including London to follow its example in tripling parking costs for SUV gas guzzlers. 

Some 54.6 per cent of Parisians on Sunday voted in favour of £15-an-hour parking for SUVs, up from £5 per hour.