The suggestion in leaked reports that a wider ban on sales of non-electric cars would encompass hybrid vehicles like the Toyota Prius is not going far enough, environmentalists have said.

The car industry has dismissed the idea as “unrealistic”. But others have claimed the proposals to ban hybrids as well as diesel and petrol vehicles by 2040 will not be sufficient.

The transition to electric vehicles is seen as an essential component in the UK’s plans to tackle climate change and air pollution – which is currently at illegal levels.

Reports in both the Financial Times and Autocar have suggested rules currently being considered by ministers would limit new car sales to those able to travel at least 50 miles using only electric power.

Such a change would mean around 98 per cent of all cars currently on sale in Britain would be outlawed.

The anticipated ban on hybrids is part of the Road to Zero strategy, which is currently being discussed in government and is set to be released soon.

It follows last year’s announcement that the sale of all new diesel and petrol cars would be banned by 2040.

But while the proposal is allegedly backed by environment secretary Michael Gove and business secretary Greg Clark, transport secretary Chris Grayling opposes it.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “It is categorically untrue that government is planning to ban the sale of hybrid cars in the UK by 2040.”

Despite this opposition, the proposal is modest when compared with the targets suggested by environmentalists and government climate advisers.

An analysis released by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) in January called for “more stretching targets” to encourage uptake of electric vehicles, and recommended around 60 per cent of car and van sales should be electric by 2030.

WWF has called for an even more ambitious target of 100 per cent electric vehicle sales by that date.

“We will get an awful lot of the way there by 2030, and if the government just sends that extra signal, and closes that door a bit earlier, then it just ensures we secure that 10 years of benefits in terms of carbon emission reductions and air pollution,” Gareth Redmond-King, head of climate and energy at WWF told The Independent.

According to analysis by the environmental group, bringing the ban forward a decade would lead to around 7 million high polluting cars being taken off the road.

They estimate the ensuing reduction in carbon emissions would bridge nearly half the gap that currently exists in meeting the UK’s fifth legally binding carbon budget, as well as cutting air pollution by nearly a third.

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“Our report also shows there are benefits to the economy – if we send that signal, and grow our electric vehicle industry faster to achieve that 2030 deadline, we could be nearly half the EU’s market by 2030,” said Mr Redmond-King.

Electric cars are expected to become cheaper in the coming years as public demand grows and technology improves.

Mr Redmond-King said a ban by 2040 is “almost like stating what’s going to happen anyway” as the industry is already gearing up for an electric future, with Volvo announcing that all new models from 2019 will be powered by some form of electric propulsion.

However, vehicle industry representatives were less keen on the proposal currently being considered by ministers.

“We cannot support ambition levels which do not appreciate how industry, the consumer or the market operate and which are based neither on fact nor substance,” said Mike Hawes, chief executive of the industry body SMMT.

“Unrealistic targets and misleading messaging on bans will only undermine our efforts to realise this future, confusing consumers and wreaking havoc on the new car market and the thousands of jobs it supports.”

When the original vehicle ban was announced last summer, there was confusion around whether or not it would include hybrids. This confusion was partly blamed for a slump in new car sales this year.

The Road to Zero strategy is expected to clarify the government’s position, but according to Mr Redmond-King the conversation about hybrids is distracting from the wider environmental issues at stake.

“The leaked document is kind of a distraction – people think hybrids get you part of the way there, but most of them are driven on petrol, and in terms of the battery they have got very short ranges,” he said.