Autocar’s editor, Mark Tisshaw, has said that it will be impossible for the UK automotive retail sector to sell cars that are exempt from the new diesel tax rules announced in last week’s budget. Exemption from the announced single tax band increase for diesel cars will only be possible when the Real Driving Emissions Step 2 (RDE2) testing is rolled out in 2020.
RDE2 is the second phase of a series of real-world emissions tests; the first stage was introduced in September. In the absence of the certification for RDE2 it is impossible to prove that any car is exempt for the announced tax rise. Autocar estimates that this means a potential extra cost of £500 per motorist.
Autocar editor, Mark Tisshaw commented, “The chancellor had an opportunity this week to clarify the road ahead for diesels, both for motorists and the car industry. But instead, he has created enormous confusion with a ruling that makes no sense.”
“If Hammond really was serious about tackling pollution caused by diesel cars, he would have announced incentives around getting older, more polluting vehicles off the road. He did nothing of the sort, instead focusing on the cleanest, most modern diesels and sparing them tax increases if they meet a certification standard that can’t be tested for until 2020.”
The budget also confirmed a 1% rise in company car tax on diesels for the 800,000 company car drivers who used the vehicles in the UK. Tisshaw suggests that the increasing cost barriers on diesel vehicles will push consumers to petrol vehicles, resulting in an increase in CO2 emissions.
Leave A Comment