Closure of Ford Bridgend: electric cars could lead a green future

They will not be manufactured by Ford at Bridgend – but electric cars could help Wales become a global leader in green tourism, an expert said.

Dr. Neil Lewis, of the Carmarthenshire Energy Social Enterprise, urged the Welsh government to make their use mandatory for public bodies.

However, he said that greener vehicles would not have been able to sustain the record of an M4 rescue route nor save Ford Bridgend.

The Welsh government spends £ 2 million on charging points for electric cars.

Dr. Lewis described as "brave" Prime Minister Mark Drakeford's decision to cut the relief road by £ 1.6 billion, partly because of pollution.

But he said it should herald a "watershed" when Wales led the UK in green travel, as it did for waste recycling.

"There will be an inevitable push towards electrification – but currently, only about 1% of cars are plug-ins," said Dr. Lewis.

He also stated that it was "far-fetched" that the absence of electric vehicle emissions "allows us to build a concrete road and asphalt through a habitat".

"This should not be a justification for a huge structure across the [Gwent] levels, "he said.

Mr Lewis explained that turning the A465 Heads of the Valleys road into a two-lane road shows that the green light for the M4 relief road would have been the beginning of the problems.

He called it "the Armageddon of the Environment", with construction companies having trouble building around cave structures and forests near the Clydach Gorge.

The widening of the 30-mile stretch between Abergavenny and Hirwaun will cost an additional £ 54m, with the expected completion date of December 2019 to be missed.

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For Lewis, the solution is not to build more highways to help increase the number of cars on the road, but to change our relationship with them.

He sees electric cars as the future basis of city life – with shared ownership and people calling one on an app in the same way as to order an Uber.

Community systems have already begun to appear in the rural areas of Gwynedd and Denbighshire, where public transport is poor.

Ogmore's AM Huw Irranca-Davies and the Welsh secretary, Alun Cairns, both had hinted that an initiative to manufacture electric cars could have saved Ford's Bridgend plant.

But Dr. Lewis said this would never happen despite the fact that the country can technically fully adopt this mode of transport in the coming years.

He named a motoring giant inundated with demands but was cutting back production despite a two-year waiting list.

"Electric cars do not do as much," he said, citing revenues from the auto industry as a whole.

"For diesel and gasoline cars, about 50% of the money you make is spent on garage repairs.

"But with electric cars, you just have to look at new tires, windshield wipers and maybe brakes due to insufficient use."

The British government is committed to stopping the production of gasoline and diesel cars by 2040.

Mr Lewis thinks the date will be postponed, even though he said it could be done by 2030.

He wants to see Wales take the lead, which could eventually fill the void left by companies such as Ford pulling out of Bridgend.

"The technology is ready for use," he said.

"In the end, electric vehicles are much more efficient, and that will happen.

"These are problems of air quality and climate change – why does the Welsh government not take advantage of opportunities?"

Lewis wants ministers to invest in technology, develop manufacturing and form a company to increase usage.

One way to do this would be to impose on public bodies, such as councils, health services and schools, the obligation to switch to electric vehicles.

Direction

Dr. Lewis added, "By setting goals, they send a clear message.

"If you're doing 38 mph in an area of ​​30 mph, you get the book thrown at you.

"I do not know why the boards are stubbornly breaking the air quality regulations for emissions.

"I want the Welsh government to show leadership, it's the right decision [scrapping the M4 relief road] but must be advanced. This could be a huge turning point. "

Assembly members have already declared a "climate emergency", with the government promising to act in favor of the environment.

A spokesman for the Welsh Government said: "We are committed to contributing to the creation of a national network of EV charging points for electric vehicles by next year, as part of our efforts to support the use of electric vehicles.

"This investment supports a network of more than 600 public charging points already in Wales."

This piece was inspired by a question from the reader Stuart Edwards who had asked, after the demolition of the M4 relief road, whether "the urgency of climate change" constituted a deliberate clutter given the projected recovery of zero emission vehicles.

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