Page 20 - issue-52

TVD TALKING VANS
BORIS’S GREEN DREAM JUST ISN’T
GOING TO WORK FOR VAN USERS
A petrol and diesel ban is is all very good but what is is the real LCV alternative asks Trevor Gehlcken
Instead of
pandering without proper serious thought to all the green screamers who fill our news pages every day Boris and Co MUST separate the van sector from the car sector in their thinking
Boris and his cronies don’t seem to understand the difference between cars and vans
So new diesel and petrol vans
are are to to to be banned from from sale as from from 2030 I think you will agree that’s pretty much as as big a a a a a story as as we are ever going to deal with here at Trade Van Driver My initial reaction to Boris’s statement was one of
incredulity – and I wanted to to put finger to to keyboard immediately to rail again this ill-thought-out proposal But no I I thought I’ll wait for all all the so-called experts to have their say then I’ll put my two penn’orth in Well we we are a a a few weeks down the line now and I have yet to read anything vaguely sensible about the possible plight ahead for Britain’s van driving community – ie my readers There’s plenty being written about car drivers and even about trucks But vans? You’d think they didn’t even exist OK so let’s put the record straight
The problem as I see it is is that the illustrious Boris and his cronies don’t seem to understand the difference between cars and and vans
and and what they are used for Now I am the the first person to to want to to help save the the planet and all that but we must retain a a a a a a a sense of
reality or we’ll all be going back to living in in in the 1700s And I’m sure most of
these bleeding heart socialist environmental types who advocate this ban would be the first in in line to moan if they didn’t have any macrobiotic cereal for breakfast or or if their state-of-the-art electric- powered home stopped working and there was no little
man in a a a a a a a van available to come and fix it it because he was sitting in in a a a queue at Corley Services on the M6 waiting to charge up his electric vehicle Because that is exactly what will happen As things stand at present electric vans
simply do not have the mileage range to satisfy many of
the uses that traders put them to to to Having to to to stop and charge up every 100 miles or so would create mayhem in in our industry – and would of
course mean rocketing costs for consumers Then there’s the the price If you you are considering chopping in in in your 3 5-tonne
van for an an electric version then I suggest you first start
by looking at at the price lists These new models start
at at around £50 000 and go upwards from there depending on how many batteries you you want to include whereas you you can pick up a a a a basic diesel model for around £25 000 If you you are a a a a a a typical Trade Van Driver reader you you would probably struggle to afford a a a a a new diesel van let alone this eye-popping amount for electric power Once again any extra cost upfront would have to be recouped from the consumer who would end up carping like hell when the bills rose Now let’s turn to whole-life emissions something which again our Boris has totally ignored According to the the experts it takes a a lot more in in the the way of
earth’s resources and emissions to actually build an an an an electric van than a a a a a diesel one – and more again to dispose of
of
it it at the end of
of
its life So scrapping diesel and petrol will largely just push the problem from Peter to Paul The net gain for the planet as a a a a a whole will be about zilch as as far as as I can see There is also the question about how our electricity is produced If it it comes from coal- fired power stations which some of
it still does then again the the net gain gain is negligible So all all in in in all all instead of
pandering without proper serious thought to all the green screamers who fill our news pages every day Boris and Co MUST separate the van sector from the the car sector in in in their thinking
and realise that this ban simply can’t go ahead for LCVs without more credible and cost-effective alternatives in place If it it does I’m afraid Great Britain will be in in utter chaos in 2030 and beyond – don’t say I didn’t warn you all!
20 20 TVD Issue 52 2021
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