Hybrid car sales could be permitted until 2035 to ease all-electric transition

Car manufacturers may be allowed to sell Toyota Prius-style hybrid models in the UK until 2035, as the government looks at ways to loosen electric vehicle sales rules.

- Mark Sweney Jasper Jolly

Earlier this week, the government launched a fast-track consultation to determine what types of electric vehicles carmakers can sell after a planned ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars comes into force from 2030.

The transport secretary, Louise Haigh, who resigned yesterday after it emerged she had been convicted of fraud in 2014 over a missing work phone, had been reported as being open to allowing the sale of "full hybrid" models that used a normal engine as well as a battery, according to the Financial Times.

This technology was pioneered by Toyota with its Prius model and is now used by several manufacturers. It cuts overall emissions but does not allow cars to drive for long periods without using the polluting petrol or diesel engine.

Unlike plug-in hybrid vehicles with larger batteries, full hybrid vehicles use their engine to recharge instead of charging points.