T he Department for Transport ’ s Road to Zero policy , released last year , outlined the UK ’ s ambitions to be at the forefront of the design and manufacture of zero emission vehicles , with the aim for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040 . A year on from these commitments , the market share for new battery electric vehicle ( BEV ) registrations has almost doubled from 0.6 % ( 2018 ) to 1.1 % ( 2019 ). This seemingly small increase is a notable success in the context of the relatively flat growth in the BEV market share over previous years - that said , it also highlights the amount of action that needs to be taken in order to meet the 2040 target .