Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that L-category vehicle manufacturers are adequately prepared in preparation for the proposed phase out of the sale of new non-zero emission vehicles.

The consultation on when to end the sale of new non-zero emission L-category vehicles was open to written responses from 14 July to 21 September 2022 and supported by a thorough programme of stakeholder engagement with manufactures. We are now analysing the responses and will bring forward the Government’s response in due course.

We are working closely with industry to ensure a prosperous future for L-category manufacturers in the UK. In February 2022, the Motorcycle Industry Association and Zemo Partnership published a government commissioned action plan “Realising the Full Potential of Zero Emission Powered Light Vehicles” to support the transition to zero emission L-category vehicles. The Government recently made £350,000 of funding available to grow the zero emission motorcycle supply chain in the UK that could lead to thousands of new jobs across the UK.

Analysis of lifecycle emissions is an important consideration as we seek to accelerate the transition to a zero emission fleet of road vehicles. Whilst there is no internationally recognised method of measuring lifecycle emissions in any transport sector, the Department’s Transport Energy Model, published in 2018, provides a clear assessment of the relative environmental impacts of different road vehicle technologies and fuels in the UK.