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27 Oct 2016

Why there is continued support to move to ULEVs

During September, the government announced on their website, further plans to support more drivers into Ultra-Low Emission Cars, with over £235m being made available for initiatives.

During September, the government announced on their website, further plans to support more drivers into Ultra-Low Emission Cars, with over £235m being made available for initiatives. D7AA-1477497187_greencarMAIN.jpg

These include additional support for drivers, the installation of charge points for electric vehicles on streets and at workplaces across the UK, as well as awards for both private and public sector organisations to deploy hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

The announcement is part of the government’s plans to improve air quality, and it comes as Defra launch a new consultation on introducing clean air zones in Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton by 2020 – as part of their commitment to create cleaner air and reduce emissions.

These areas will decide whether or not to introduce low-emission zones, and charge the drivers of the most polluting vehicles for driving in city centres, making ULEVs more attractive for road users.

Department for Transport figures show that record numbers of ULEVs are on Britain’s roads – 9,657 ULEVs were registered in April to June this year, an increase of 49% on the same period last year, and up 253% on 2014. Salary Sacrifice Car Schemes account for 6% of these, highlighting their major contribution to getting ULEVs onto Britain’s roads.

Whether purchasing a car, or taking a car through a Salary Sacrifice Scheme, drivers are currently entitled to grants and benefits on new ULEVs. Company Car Tax or Benefit in Kind Tax as it is also known, can dramatically affect the cost of running a car, and as such, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of ULEV cars drivers are choosing, up 500% from 2014.

Meeting environmental objectives

For public and private sector organisations, ULEVs can be one way to meet environmental objectives, reducing their emissions with the introduction of Salary Sacrifice Schemes with limits on the CO2 their fleet can emit. Employers can help support this drive to lower emission cars by providing a highly valued employee benefit, and at the same time, reduce their company’s carbon footprint.

One driver, David Simpkins, chose a salary saving scheme due to the cost of owning and running a new car. He said: “Even with the ULEV grants in place, the hybrid and electric cars are expensive to own and manage. I wouldn’t have been able to afford a new car if I’d had to buy it, but I now make monthly payments for an all-inclusive car package, while still dramatically reducing my carbon footprint.”

Analysis of the Benefit in Kind tax structure quickly show some of the reasons for the shift to lower CO2 vehicles. With as little as 7% tax applied to vehicles under 50g/CO2 and up to 37% tax applied to the most polluting vehicles, it can make a big difference to the cost of running a vehicle.

As Salary Sacrifice Car Scheme drivers choose lower-emission cars, they continue to be critical to assisting the government in meeting their targets of almost all new cars being zero-emission by 2050.

Salary Sacrifice drivers are moving from much older cars, on average, over 7.5 years old, to a brand new vehicle, and as such the average CO2 emissions has been reduced by 29% from 142g/km to 101g/km. The government announced at the Budget that until at least 2021, Company Car Tax will continue to be based on the CO2 emissions of cars and so the number of people choosing ULEVs is estimated to continue to rise.

With these ambitious targets to meet, Salary Sacrifice continues to provide a low cost way for employees to drive a brand new lower emission car, while assisting the government in reaching their goals.

This article was provided by Tusker.

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