Car buyers switch to greener models

Research revealed a 17 per cent increase in sales of low CO2 emission cars since 2000. By comparing road tax bands, which are based on tailpipe emissions, the figures showed 60.7 per cent of new cars sold last year fell within the cleanest bands A-D (under 165 g/km) compared with just 43.1 per cent in 2000. In May a MORI poll for the SMMT found only 13 per cent of consumers rated low emissions as the most important factor when buying a car.

But SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan said buyers should understand that low emission cars also fared well with fuel economy: “It is important that we wrap the message that low carbon cars and low cost motoring go hand-in-hand.” Macgowan said there had been a noticeable shift in the new car market as consumers downsized their vehicle. “This is partly due to concerns about motoring costs and partly because reducing their climate change impact is important to more buyers,” he said. “However, we should not underplay significant fuel economy and CO2 savings from technological advances in new models, including premium brands.”

Recently launched British-built models highlight the improvement, the SMMT said. The new Mini Cooper is 19 per cent better on fuel economy and 16 per cent on CO2 emissions than its predecessor. Halewood's Land Rover Freelander2 petrol boasts a 10 per cent improvement on fuel consumption and emissions over the model it replaced, while a new range of fuel-efficient diesel models has helped Jaguar cut average tailpipe CO2 by 31.5 per cent since 1997.