Incentives to buy a hybrid car
Other than than the tax breaks offered to company car owners and lower road tax, no. On the face of it it seems a little strange that the government aren't offering more incentives to buy more economical cars but the cynic in me can't help thinking that with the huge amount of tax on fuel that not only would they lose revenue on decreased sales, they'd have to pay out to car buyers.
There is a scheme called "Powershift" details of which can be found here. The link from that site to the Powershift Register doesn't work and it seems the best benefit is 100% discount from the London Congestion Charge - great but a lot of us don't live in London! All in all, it seems a very half hearted attempt.
The difference in road tax is not huge -
| Diesel Car TC 49 |
Petrol Car TC 48 |
Alternative Fuel Car TC 59 |
|||||
| Bands | CO2 Emission Figure (g/km) * |
12 months rate £ |
6 months rate £ |
12 months rate £ |
6 months rate £ |
12 months rate £ |
6 months rate £ |
| Band A | Up to 100 | 75.00 | 41.25 | 65.00 | 35.75 | 55.00 | 30.25 |
| Band B | 101 to 120 | 85.00 | 46.75 | 75.00 | 41.25 | 65.00 | 35.75 |
| Band C | 121 - 150 | 115.00 | 63.25 | 105.00 | 57.75 | 95.00 | 52.25 |
| Band D | 151 - 165 | 135.00 | 74.25 | 125.00 | 68.75 | 115.00 | 63.25 |
| Band E | 166 - 185 | 160.00 | 88.00 | 150.00 | 82.50 | 140.00 | 77.00 |
| Band F | Over 185 | 170.00 | 93.50 | 165.00 | 90.75 | 160.00 | 88.00 |
A Honda Civic IMA would fit into Band B (£75 for 12 months) whereas an 8 litre, V10 Dodge Viper would be in Band F (£165). Even the Lexus RX400h has emissions of over 185g/km so would also be in the top group. It strikes me that £90 a year is not exactly an inspiring incentive to buy a hybrid.
The biggest incentive is that of our own ability to be able to choose. We can choose to not contribute to the massive amount of damage the human race has done to the environment. We can choose to not have a fuel guzzling SUV and compromise slightly with the Lexus or have the Civic IMA in place of the conventional Civic. However, it has to be said that if the government assisted in making this decision easier by either waiving road tax or offsetting the purchase price (which I believe is the best option) then sales of hybrids would increase massively.
Syndicate
