Today’s news of new taxation for diesel cars has left everyone utterly confused.
I’ve spoken to car manufacturers, hoping that they can help clarify what it means, but they are waiting, in a long line, to speak to the Treasury because they need clarification as much as the media do.
Autumn Budget: diesel tax hike confirmed
The short of it: new diesel cars that don’t meet a certain standard by April next year will go up a car tax band for the first year of ownership. What is that new standard? The name is Real Driving Emissions, stage 2, which is a test under real-world emissions. The thing is, while stage 1 is under way having been introduced this summer, stage 2 isn’t due until at least 2020.
Do any new cars on sale meet this RDE 2, then? Well that’s the thing. Even if they did, we wouldn’t know because certification for RDE 2 is not possible until 2020. Crazy, right? Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced a literally impossible task. So, this new tax will apply to every single new diesel car.
Opinion: the government is wrong to penalise drivers
Diesel car sales have decreased by around 20% in recent months, thanks to the ongoing war on diesel, often based on incorrect and ill-advised advice. This move will mean one of two things: first, that people will rush to buy diesel cars ahead of April to ensure they miss the next taxation; or, second, that diesel’s demise just continues on its tragic trajectory. If sales are down 20% already, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re down by half come next April.
The likely result will not mean a massive increase in electric or hybrid cars. Instead, people will choose petrol. The same petrol that in many cases has no better NOx pollutant levels than current diesel models.
And, worst of all, this move to petrol will increase CO2 levels, which, let’s remember, was the key focus in the first place. Global warming is happening and is every bit as important as air quality.
And, of course, all this new taxation doesn’t attack the very heart of the problem: older, more polluting diesel cars, which will continue to roam freely with no penalties whatsoever.
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Old smokers live longer
I wouldn't mind if the people who believe that "old smokers" should be taken off the road if they are willing to subsidize the new and shiny vehicles for the "poor old bloke" in the old banger who likely has quite a respectable job but cannot afford ***t in this country let alone wasting his/her money on a depreciating asset that the government is set to ban in the medium term.
Diesel is not as clean as petrol
It is really important that we hold government (national and global) to account when it comes to emissions legislation, it is so frustrating to see production technology stagnate or be pushed in the wrong direction as legislation is so slow and those in power are so clearly ill equipped to understand, so really I am greatful for this article and the work Autocar and other journalists put in.
However, it is not correct that modern diesels are as clean as petrols, this only applies on the old NEDC test cycle and maybe on the WLTC, but when it comes to "RDE" emissions testing or even real driving (how we all drive for real, not quite the same as RDE), this is probably not the case.
The nature of diesel combustion engines are that they can run very lean or very rich, and this is where the NOx (lean) and particulates (rich) come from. Yes we have various levels of lean burn in some gasolines but to a lesser degree and yes gasolines also go rich under acceleration but not to the same extent and I think maybe they spend more time at stoich than diesels.
Ultimately I think fuel cells are the way forward, probably more sustainable than lithum mining, but it needs political pressure for the infrastructure investment to happen. The argument that emissions are shifted to power stations is void, power stations do not need to be nearly so transient and can and should run at peak efficiency and/or minimal emissions points and space and mass do not need to be concerns for aftertreatment.
A modern diesel engine with an SCR system is turning into a heavy, bulbous and complex thing.
Oh and lets not forget that DPF regen emissions are not measured, not even by RDE to my knowledge (I believe a cycle where a regen occurs is considered "invalid" and there's nothing to stop manufactures performing a regen or fitting a fresh DPF before a test). I've also heard the same applies to these posy artificial pops and bangs most modern "sports" cars have.
This conclusively shows that
This conclusively shows that Ms. Burgess is infatuated with diesel...she attacks Tesla for being too electric...now she is worried that without diesel - we will be too "petrolic". Look slike she prefers coal....