NSW, Victoria, SA and ACT join six carmakers to axe fossil-fuel vehicles by 2040

New petrol and diesel vehicles could be looking at an expiry date – with New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory joining six car companies pledging to drop petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.

General Motors and Ford both signed onto the Glasgow Declaration on Zero Emission Cars and Vans at the COP26 event, along with Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, and BYD.

Missing from the pledge were Toyota and Volkswagen – the world’s top two manufacturers – as well as BMW, Hyundai, Stellantis, Nissan, and Honda.

The declaration commits signatories to transition to zero-emissions cars by 2040, or 2035 in “leading markets”.

If the declaration is upheld, new-car buyers in NSW, VIC, SA, and the ACT will only be given the option of battery-electric and hydrogen-electric cars.

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Volkswagen Group brands Audi and Bentley put out statements reaffirming their commitments to electrification.

Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath was scathing of other manufacturers refusing to commit: “Car companies are still talking about selling petrol and diesel cars until 2040. Considering the lifetime of a car, they will still be driving and polluting the second half of this century.”

Speaking to German newspaper Handelsblatt, Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess dismissed the plan as “not doable” by 2040.

"We need raw materials, new mines, a circular economy. Battery capacity and building renewable energy grids across Europe will be the bottleneck," Diess said.

"It will take everyone working together to be successful,” Ford said in a statement to Automotive News Europe.

While US, China, and Germany did not join the declaration, a notable signatory was India – the world’s second most populous country.

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Despite the “zero-emissions” forming key aspects of the declaration, a German environmental spokesperson said the country had not yet signed up as it wanted clarification as to whether fuels made from renewable energy, but burned in a combustion engine, could be included.

Porsche and BMW have previously announced their intentions to develop synthetic fuels.

New Zealand was one of 33 countries that committed to the pledge, as did the states of Washington, New York, and California – the world’s fifth latest economy.