The Government's plan to push an EV-only agenda as soon as possible is laudable, but must now be presented with details of how it will be achieved, McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt has said.
Talking at the reveal of the new McLaren 765LT, Flewitt reiterated McLaren's plans to transition to hybrid powertrains over the coming years before launching a range of EVs in the longer-term.
However, while he stressed that McLaren wouldn't launch an EV until it could develop one that was better in every way than it's current line-up of cars, he said he had "no doubts" that the firm could meet any deadline to sell only EVs, be it 2032 or 2035 as is being debated by the Government now.
"The issue isn't so much bringing the date forward from 2040 - this industry is famous for meeting challenges, and I'm confident we could meet the dates being proposed in the UK if it had to," said Flewitt. "We aren't here to fight an elected government's policy, but we do now need detail of how the goal will be practically achieved.
"Developing the cars is possible but what we need to know is the strategy around it, such creating a sustainable supply base, infrastructure that supports mass EV adoption and battery recycling. We need the detail so that we can plan for the long-term."
Flewitt also highlighted his belief that hybrid technology should be allowed for a longer period, seeing it as part of the solution to driving down emissions rather than a blocker to it.
"The bigger surprise than bringing the date forward was that there appears to be no place for hybridisation within the Government's latest timeline," said Flewitt.
"Hybridisation could play a key role in the journey and I believe that a longer transition period of running hybrid and full EV alongside each other could be part of the answer.
"We've invested in this technology with the goal of paying back that investment over a number of years. We believe it will meet customer requirements sooner than full EV. To set a deadline for its end before we have launched it is detrimental to the perception of the steps forward we've made, and it both stalls the demand and - potentially - causes people to hold on to or buy older, more polluting cars."
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