Right now, we’re living in an exciting time of change and revolution, especially when it comes to the car industry. Driving is changing a lot, and in the next few years, is set to be drastically different than it was just a decade ago. With recent government announcements to cease all sales of new internal combustion engine cars by 2030, you might be wondering just how different driving is going to look by this time.
Car technology is only set to become better, with more self-driving cars, increased automation, and more powerful features in vehicles. One of the main changes, however, is going to be the impact on the environment, with lots of incentives rolled out to encourage drivers to make the change to an electric or hybrid car. If you’re interested in learning more about what 2030 might look like on the road, keep reading.
More Electric Cars
By 2030, almost half of the UK’s driving population is set to have an EV. Electric cars are going to become easier to buy and make the switch to, and with several grants, incentives, and other benefits to choose from such as grants to reduce the cost of buying an EV, grants to reduce the cost of having a charger installed at home, and grants to help you reduce the cost of public charging, it’s going to reach a point where buying an EV might become a no-brainer compared to buying an internal combustion engine car.
With plans to make all new cars electric by 2030, EVs are set to become much more mainstream and will be a top choice for lots of drivers looking to future-proof their wheels. You can find EV buying guides, charging tips, maintenance advice, and more at LV Electrix.
Hydrogen Cell Cars
It’s a given that much of the world, and the UK, is on a push to switch to electric cars. EVs have a lot of momentum behind them that is set to continue through the coming years, with new legislations and rules across the world, and Tesla becoming the most valuable car company globally. However, hydrogen cell cars are also in the works, and these might take off in the next few years too. Hydrogen has a lot of potential compared to battery-electric; however, there are a lot more hurdles. Experts suggest that they may be making a debut in 2030, in a similar way to how electric cars are starting to come on the scene today.
Fewer Hybrids
Hybrids were a popular choice for quite a while and have served well as a bridge between traditional internal combustion engine cars and fully electric cars. But while new hybrid cars will be sold for longer than new internal combustion engine cars, they are limited, and chances are that by 2030, they won’t be seen on the roads quite as often. The sale of new hybrid cars is expected to be banned in the UK from 2035, so by 2030, they’ll probably be on their way out.
Fewer Serious Accidents
While serious road accidents are always going to occur, accidents, where the car rolls over, are likely to decrease in the future as more and more people switch to driving electric cars. This is because EVs are safer to drive in comparison with a low center of gravity thanks to the heavy battery that is located on the bottom of the vehicle. Rather than having most of the weight at the front of the car with the engine, as is the case with traditional petrol and diesel cars, the weight is spread out more evenly along the bottom of the vehicle, meaning that it is much less likely to flip or roll over in the event of a crash.
Automatic Updates
Newer cars, particularly EVs that are highly computerized and networked, are going to start resembling smartphones or tablets on wheels. Cars are going to be constantly receiving new updates, which are likely to happen automatically over the air, similar to many computers, smartphones, and tablets today. Right now, there are several ways for EVs to get updates including connecting to Wi-Fi, over the air, or going into your local dealership to have the update carried out.
More Car Manufacturers
The rise of electric vehicles and changes to traditional carmakers, especially those who are reluctant to embrace the future, have led to lots of new car start-ups, which are likely to make it to the UK by 2030. We’re already seeing a lot of Tesla cars on UK roads, and other brands like Bollinger, Canoo, Rivian, and Lucid Motors are already starting to grow as new EV manufacturers that are likely to become the new giants over time. On the other hand, car brands that we are familiar with and have been around for some time might start to become less popular on the roads, as they struggle to take off in a new era of electric vehicles.
Increased Driving Safety
An increased crumple zone where the engine would normally be in an internal combustion engine car, more stability from the low center of gravity, more safety sensors, and increased automation is going to be working together to make driving your car a much safer experience. As EVs become more popular around the world, by 2030 there are likely to be fewer accidents on the road – and along with this, any accidents that do happen are less likely to be very serious, resulting in fewer serious injuries and deaths.
Automatic Driving
Manual cars are officially going to be phased out, which is bad news for those who prefer the freedom and power of this type of gearbox. EVs are automatic, so with the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars coming in 2030, there’ll also be a ban on manual cars. There is no transmission in an electric vehicle, so there’s no need for a manual gearstick. This is likely to make huge changes to other areas of driving such as driving lessons and tests.
Changes to Service Stations
With more and more cars going electric on the road today, we’re going to see changes to service stations and petrol stations to prioritize EV charging over filling a tank with petrol and diesel cars. While in 2030, people will still be driving internal combustion engine cars and they will be sold second-hand, eventually, there will be more electric cars on the road compared to petrol or diesel cars, and the need for petrol stations will no longer be as great.
More Automation
Finally, cars are set to have more and more automation. Self-driving technology has already made it to lots of cars, although there are lots of regulatory issues that are stopping it from being rolled out fully. By 2030, it’s likely that the various hiccups will have been dealt with, and there will be more self-driving cars on the road. We are already seeing a lot of automation features in today’s electric cars, and these are only likely to grow over time, with more options for EV drivers to be rolled out in the future.
With big announcements affecting drivers by 2030, it’s exciting to think about how different driving might become in the near future.
Featured photo by Taras Makarenko from Pexels.
