I received a press release from a well-known manufacturer this week, promoting their new battery powered mower. Nothing unusual about that, my inbox is always heaving with such things.

However, what made it stand out to me was that this particular release explicitly acknowledged that, as a supplier, they were aware that some members of the dealer network have genuine concerns about the industry's transition from petrol to battery-powered products.

To quote directly, they said, "In recent times, favour has gradually slipped away from petrol towards battery power. With the technology constantly improving, it is easy to see why; however, concerns are still raised by dealers unconvinced of the transition. From worries about limited runtimes, to charging time and up-front costs and poor performance, these concerns were once valid."

They went on to explain why they believe with their products, these concerns are no longer legitimate. With technological developments they said, notions such as 'range anxiety' are eliminated for end-users - and thus by extension, for dealers too.

The accuracy of these claims is for others to judge - but the very fact that this manufacturer was openly addressing concerns held by some dealers about battery products, I thought was noteworthy.

This ties in with a comment left by a dealer under a blog on this Weekly Update recently. It was the week that the starting gun was fired on the general election campaign that we're all currently enjoying so much. Believe it or not, this was just two weeks ago and not the eternity that one might immediately assume.

In that entry, I had asked the question of which party policies should dealers be specifically looking out for, that can directly affect how they trade? Our dealer commentator had picked up on the areas of legislation and regulation, expressing heartfelt concerns.

They wrote that there was something "serious on the horizon", explaining that this was, "..the idea of forcing people to transition from petrol to electric."

They elaborated saying, "I'm not against people choosing to switch to electric, but I am against being forced to do so. If the government can legislate against internal combustion engines in cars, currently banned from 2035, and motorbikes from 2040, don't put your head in the sand and pretend that it won't happen in our industry."

They continued, "We all know that electric propulsion does not adequately replace internal combustion, yet there seems to be some blind faith that the technology will miraculously get better. If that were believable the signs of it would be much more tangible than they are at the moment."

This dealer concluded with their stark assessment, " . . there is a real chance of our industry as we have known it, being legislated out of existence."

Powerful food for thought and one that inevitably raises the question for you, our dealer readers - is this a viewpoint that you also subscribe to? Does the move to battery inherently concern you? Perhaps not only with power levels but with disposal of used batteries also? Or are you fully on board, embracing the transition?

Examples can clearly be found in certain parts of the world of this notion of petrol machinery being "legislated out of existence" - specifically across various localities in the United States. Starting in California a few years ago, the latest news report on the subject that caught my eye was this one that said New York State is now considering a bill to ban the sale of, as they term it, gas powered outdoor equipment.

If you visit the website of our friends at the U.S trade journal, Rural Lifestyle Dealer, they have a page where they are collating news from around the States regarding these local regulation stories. Recent headlines include, 'Portland City Council Votes to Ban Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers'; 'Virginia Bill to Allow Local Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Bans Advances'; and 'Michigan City Bans Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers'.

So these types of legislation are clearly real and growing. Can we presume it's simply a matter of time before similar laws find their way onto UK books? It's an area I'm sure all of our readers will have thought about.

But what are your opinions on the subject? Please let us know in the comments below or drop me a line.