Major carmakers privately lobbied the UK government to revoke a ban on new petrol and diesel cars after 2035, according to documents that reveal for the first time the efforts to overturn a key decarbonisation policy.

BMW, Ford, Nissan and Toyota, plus the parts maker Bosch, wrote a joint letter to ministers in April calling for an “open technology approach” including petrol and diesel cars after 2035, when the government had said new cars must produce zero carbon emissions.