U.K. Transport Chief Sees Autonomous, Piston-Free Future

The U.K.’s transport secretary predicts Britain will see the first completely automated cars on its roads no later than 2022, Reuters reports.

Secretary Chris Grayling also tells a conference that he remains committed to ending the sale of new piston-powered gasoline and diesel cars by 2040. In the meantime, is insists that increasingly cleaner diesels will continue to have a role “for many years.”

In June, the British government launched a three-year, £250 million ($333 million) program to boost development of automated vehicles for mass production. Several government policymakers believe the country will be able to accelerate such work after the U.K. leaves the European Union next spring.

Grayling’s comments about diesels are meant to revive demand for such engines. Sales began to slump two years ago, thanks to uncertainty about government policy for the engines following the Volkswagen AG diesel emission cheating scandal.

Last year deliveries of diesel passenger vehicles fell 17% to 2.54 million units, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Sales plunged another 29% to 1.57 million units through the first eight months of 2018.