Car tax changes could backfire as petrol and diesel owners issued with warning
Car tax changes could come with many issues for petrol and diesel owners, according to motoring experts. The increases will need to be considered to ensure drivers make sensible decisions
14:45, 31 DEC 2020
The changes could affect some motorists (Image: Getty Images)
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They say this phasing in scheme would help drive down emissions between the medium to long term”.
UKERC spokesman Professor Rob Gross said: “You might think that people not buying cars is a good thing for the environment.
“But it’s not a good thing if they delay buying a relatively inefficient car, and that car is still being used for longer.
“Every gram of CO2 that enters the atmosphere stays there, potentially for hundreds of years.”
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Mr Buttle also attacked the new scheme just before Christmas as he warned the new 50 percent purchase tax seems “unreasonably high”.
Up to 32 metric tonnes of Co2 in tailpipe emissions could be saved between 2020 and 2030 with a further 64MtCo2 between 2031 and 2050.
Despite this, Mr Buttle said any new tax hikes were “completely unnecessary” as motorists were already making the move towards new models.
Electric car sales have soared in 2020 with a 162.2 percent increase year-on-year for fully electric models.
Over 86,000 EV’s have been sold this year compared to 32,911 after eleven months in 2019.
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However, battery-electric models still only make up just 5.8 percent of overall sales as petrol and diesel vehicles still drove high numbers.
Over 840,000 petrol cars have been sold in 2020 despite this being almost 40 percent down on last year.
The report added: “Setting a clear, phased approach would provide motor manufacturers with market certainty as consumers are steered towards greener vehicles.
“If implemented early, it may also buy time beyond 2030, potentially allowing for the phase-out date to be pushed a little further, thus alleviating some manufacturers’ concerns that they cannot transition in time.”
The UKERC carries out research into sustainable future energy systems and researches challenges and opportunities presented by the transition to net-zero.
Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows electric car sales have soared in 2020.
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Sales of battery electric vehicles have risen by 177.7 percent over the past year as petrol and diesel sales fell.
Calls for 50 per cent tax on polluting cars to encourage electric vehicles sales
PA
18 December 2020, 10:38 am
The most polluting cars should be sold with a 50 per cent tax to encourage motorists to switch to electric vehicles, according to a sustainable energy research organisation.
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) has warned that the coronavirus pandemic has altered people s buying habits as they put off buying a cleaner, new car or try to find better value for money.
With electric vehicles typically being more expensive at the point of purchase, this could impact sales.
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The UKERC predicts there will be an extra one million diesel cars on the road in 2025, and suggests there would be 4.7 million fewer diesels between 2020 and 2030 if the pandemic had not happened.