The Government will increase taxes on new diesel cars in order to fund its air quality plans, which culminate in ban on internal combustion-engined cars from 2040 unless other existing funds can be ‘reprioritised’.
The funds will be dished out to local authorities, for more local air quality measures such as the proposed abolishment of speed humps and air quality-decreasing traffic calming measures. The ban, which will abolish sales of all new petrol and diesel cars (but not hybrids or plug-in hybrids) is the culmination of a period of intensifying anti-fossil-fuel and pro-air-quality rhetoric.
It’s not yet known how much the taxes would amount to for each diesel driver, but they would be in addition to the £10 T-Charge, which was announced earlier this year to discourage diesel drivers from already polluted city centres, as well as other levies to discourage drivers out of diesels. The current method of taxation for covers both petrol and diesel cars, with first-year charges ranging from £10 to £2000 depending on the car's CO2 output. After this, all cars have the same £140 rate of tax, whatever their emissions. Zero-emissions cars under £40,000 go free.
The Government will announce the measures later this year, likely in the autumn budget statement. The detail has fuelled further speculation of the end of diesels in the UK, from used car buyers ditching them in the wake of higher taxes and charges, as well as through the Government’s planned scrappage scheme, and new buyers snubbing them in favour of Lexus petrol, petrol-electric hybrids and pure EVs.
This tax hike would be another blow for the Government’s latest VED scheme. These new VED rules have already faced criticism for inadvertently penalising more expensive hybrids out of contention with traditional petrol and diesel cars through a £310 annual ‘premium fee’ for cars with a list price of more than £40,000 for the first five years of the car's life, no matter what its emissions.
A Defra spokesman confirmed that the tax changes will be announced at the autumn budget statement, but could not give any further details.
An AA spokesman said: “Something has to be done about air quality, but there is tunnel vision when it comes to the problem; cars, cars, cars are always blamed, without a grand strategy for the other sources which make up the majority of air pollution.
We believe there is a natural route to where the government wants to get - once again they have whipped up a storm of fear and can milk it for as much as you can get out of it.
One of the reasons people went to diesels is that they’re cheaper in the long run. The lack of affordable housing in city centres means longer commutes, which means a diesel car will be more suited to your commute. The average fuel consumption for new cars is 52.1mpg for petrol, 61.7mpg for diesel - go figure.”
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Any penalties should also be applied to industry. This is only fair!!. So lets see taxis, buses, HGVs and all other commercial vehicles restricted from city areas. Costs for public transport, deliveries and goods will rocket overnight. The fact is diesel is the most cost effective fuel available now.
Diesel technology can still be improved further. For example lets make it mandatory to have stop start technology for buses. Buses spend a lot of their life sitting in traffic or stopping at bus stops. DPFs have helped considerably but they are flawed. IF DPFs are used in buses then it must be better than that in cars as short urban start stop journeys are supposed to lead to clogged DPFs. What do diesel buses use to reduce particulates????
I dont think electric vehicles are the futre. The technology is not comparable to diesel. Surely hydrogen is the answer. Okay energy is required to compress the gas but a solution to that is surely possible????
Still life left in diesels.
Whilst excepting that there needs to be a re-balancing of petrol v diesel in passenger cars and incentives to adopt hybrid and full EV vehicles. The diesel engine will need to be with us for quite some time to come. Larger vehicles, Vans, Trucks, Coaches and Buses, Marine applications will simply not be economically viable with anything other. Diesels will become cleaner and more efficient by the integration of hybrid technology, hopefully at attainable prices. But like them or loath them diesel engines will need to be with us up to and beyond 2040. All transportation is harmful. But this hysteria on demonising diesels has the potential to financially harm individuals and businesses, which then effects employment and the economy. Incentivise alternatives rather than financially penalising those who have no viable alternative.
Harry P wrote:
The whole point of the exercise, Harry, is to penalize those who have no viable alternative. That is the plan of the people who came up with the electric car scam and the interlinked autonomous car scam. These both are leftist plots to get under control the freedom of movement which the car has brought to the people for the last hundred-odd years. We may have a Tory government just now, but the departments and the research institutions are riddled with lefties for whom this has long been high on their agenda.
The scheme is based on the inability of electric cars to cover long distances virtually non-stop, as can petrol cars, and the capacity for central control of autonomous cars, which will have the capability to prevent a car from going anywhere without being authorized. They are a long stride towards a soviet style state, restricting freedom of movement is a powerful weapon where protest or political mobilization against the authority are not tolerated. That is the reason why electric and autonomous cars are being pushed at the people, and it isn't for any benefit of the people, but much to their detriment.
Enthusiast motoring magazines like Autocar should be taking up the fight against electrification on behalf of freedom, but sadly it hasn't happened. I am still sure, however, that the people will see through the plot in good time and simply refuse to comply. Electric cars are going nowhere.
Who cares anymore?
The diesel debacle has in fact ended the internal combustion industry in the UK and elsewhere so just enjoy the next 23 years before the curtain comes down.