Drivers urged to see bikers

The UK Department for Transport has launched a new Think! campaign in a bid to cut the number of motorcyclist deaths and serious injuries.



But rather than just being aimed at bikers themselves, the main target audience is actually other drivers.



That’s because 78% of riders that are killed or seriously injured are in collision with another vehicle, with 67% of those crashes occurring at junctions. Those government statistics, which are from 2009, clearly dispel the notion that most motorcycle fatalities are primarily speed-related with nobody else involved.



Therefore, the focus of the campaign is to encourage drivers to look out for bikers, especially at junctions. Costing £1.2 million for 2011/12, it will include national radio advertising, sponsorship of drive-time radio shows and filling station forecourt adverts.



Mike Penning MP, Road Safety Minister, commented:



"Britain has some of the safest roads in the world but around nine motorcyclists were still killed on the roads each week in 2009.



"As a biker I know how much fun motorcycling can be and what a practical way it is to get around, but it is unacceptable that so many motorcyclists are dying on our roads and I want to tackle this.



"While many drivers may take extra care at junctions, they often don't see bikers and this is a major factor in motorcycle casualties. That is why our Think! campaign aims to remind drivers to think about the biker, not just the bike, so that we see fewer of these needless accidents."



Given the generally poor standard of driving exhibited by many road users - especially a lack of observational skills - the campaign could face an uphill struggle. But hopefully it’ll mean the ‘sorry mate I didn’t see you’ excuse gets used less often.

2011-12 company car tax

Changes to UK company car tax rules from 6 April 2011 are set to give drivers of very expensive vehicles a nasty shock. That’s because the current £80,000 cost limit which is applied for the purposes of calculating the taxable benefit is to be scrapped.



The underlying principle for working out how much goes to the tax man remains unchanged, so the on-the-road list price in force the day before the car was registered is multiplied by a percentage, which depends on the car’s CO2 emissions. This gives a figure that’s then multiplied by the employee’s tax rate.



Take for example the Mercedes-Benz S 65 AMG, which has a list price of £163,580. It emits 334 g/km of CO2, meaning that the percentage applied is the maximum 35%. For someone who pays tax at the higher rate of 40%, their 2010-11 company car tax liability would be:



· £80,000 x 35% x 40% = £11,200



However, for the 2011-12 tax year, the removal of the £80,000 list price upper limit will mean their tax bill more than doubles:



· £163,580 x 35% x 40% = £22,901



Admittedly this measure is going to affect very few people, particularly as those in a position to drive cars such as the S 65 AMG probably already do so in a much more tax efficient way.

However, three other changes for 2011-12 will hit company car drivers at the other end of the spectrum, too:

• The lowest percentage that can be applied to petrol- or diesel-powered models is 15%. In order to qualify for this in 2011-12, a car must achieve CO2 emissions of less than 125 g/km, which is down from the 2010-11 threshold of 130 g/km. This decrease means that drivers of cars such as the Ford Fiesta 1.25 Duratec (127 g/km or 129 g/km, depending on power output), Mini Cooper Hatch (127 g/km), Citroën C3 1.4 VTi 95hp EGS6 (127 g/km), Volkswagen Polo 1.2 petrol (128 g/km) and Fiat Punto Evo 1.4 16v MultiAir Turbo 135 (129 g/km) will end up paying more tax.

• There’s also bad news for those with alternative fuel vehicles. The 3% reduction for hybrid electric cars is going, as is the 2% reduction for gas only and E85 petrol / bioethanol bi-fuel vehicles.

• The 3% diesel surcharge will apply to all diesels, following the cessation of an exemption previously granted to Euro IV-compliant cars registered before 1 January 2006.

A minor consolation is that these alterations make the rules slightly simpler. Instead of today’s eight different vehicle categories, from 6 April 2011 there will only be three: E for electric-only cars, D for diesels and A for everything else.

Zero Congestion Charge

In a rare piece of good news for motorists, the beginning of 2011 saw a change to the London Congestion Charge that could see some drivers now (legally) avoiding the fee altogether.



The new Greener Vehicle Discount, which replaces the Alternative Fuel Discount, means that more cars will potentially qualify for 100% off the daily charge.



Naturally, there are a couple of caveats that come attached with this generous gesture from Transport for London.



The first is that the vehicle needs to be ‘green’. More precisely, it should be Euro 5 emissions compliant and produce 100 grams of CO2 per kilometre or less.



Secondly, if you already own such an eco-friendly machine, don’t presume that you can just swan about in central London and not worry about the Congestion Charge. To receive the Greener Vehicle Discount, a car must first be registered with Transport for London, and that involves a £10 annual payment.



So, what cars will qualify for the Greener Vehicle Discount? According to the Vehicle Certification Agency, the models that currently meet the criteria are:

Manufacturer	Model	Specification	Transmission	Fuel	CO2 g/km
Audi	A3	1.6 TDI 105PS Stop Start	M5	Diesel	99
Citroën	DS3	1.6HDi 90hp w/ energy saving tyres	M5	Diesel	99
Citroën	New C3	1.6HDi 90hp Airdream+	M5	Diesel	99
Fiat	500 / 500C (2010 on)	TwinAir	M5	Petrol	95
Fiat	500 / 500C (2010 on)	TwinAir Dualogic	SAT5	Petrol	92
Fiat	Punto Evo (Jan 2010 on)	1.3 16v MultiJet 85 ECO	M5	Diesel	95
Ford	Fiesta (Post 2010¼)	1.6 Duratorq 95PS +DPF ECO	M5	Diesel	98
Hyundai	i10	1.0l SOHC	M5	Petrol	99
Mini	Hatchback	One D w/ DPF	M6	Diesel	99
Mini	Hatchback	Cooper D w/ DPF	M6	Diesel	99
Seat	Ibiza	ST 1.2 CR TDI 75PS Ecomotive	M5	Diesel	92
Seat	Leon	1.6 CR TDI 105PS Ecomotive	M5	Diesel	99
Skoda	New Fabia Hatch	1.2 CR TDI 75PS GreenLine II	M5	Diesel	89
Skoda	New Fabia Estate	1.2 CR TDI 75PS GreenLine II	M5	Diesel	89
Skoda	New Fabia Estate	1.2 TDI 3 cylinder 75PS GreenLine	M5	Diesel	89
Smart	fortwo cabrio (MY 2011)	54 bhp cdi w/ Softip & 15" rear wheels	5 AMT	Diesel	86
Smart	fortwo cabrio (MY 2011)	54 bhp cdi w/ Softouch & 15" rear wheels	5 AMT	Diesel	87
Smart	fortwo cabrio (MY 2011)	71 bhp mhd w/ Softip & 15" rear wheels	5 AMT	Petrol	99
Smart	fortwo cabrio (MY 2011)	71 bhp mhd w/ Softouch & 15" rear wheels	5 AMT	Petrol	100
Smart	fortwo coupé (MY 2011)	54 bhp cdi w/ Softip & 15" rear wheels	5 AMT	Diesel	86
Smart	fortwo coupé (MY 2011)	54 bhp cdi w/ Softouch & 15" rear wheels	5 AMT	Diesel	87
Smart	fortwo coupé (MY 2011)	71 bhp mhd w/ Softip & 15" rear wheels	5 AMT	Petrol	97
Smart	fortwo coupé (MY 2011)	71 bhp mhd w/ Softouch & 15" rear wheels	5 AMT	Petrol	98
Toyota	iQ (MY 2011)	1.0 VVT-i	M5	Petrol	99
Toyota	Auris Hybrid (MY 2010)	T4 89g 1.8 VVT-i	E-CVT	Petrol Hybrid	89
Toyota	Auris Hybrid (MY 2010)	T4 1.8 VVT-i	E-CVT	Petrol Hybrid	93
Toyota	Auris Hybrid (MY 2010)	T Spirit 1.8 VVT-i	E-CVT	Petrol Hybrid	93
Toyota	Prius (MY 2009)	T4 1.8 VVT-I	E-CVT	Petrol Hybrid	92
Toyota	Prius (MY 2009)	T3 1.8VVT-I	E-CVT	Petrol Hybrid	89
Toyota	Prius (MY 2009)	T Spirit 1.8 VVT-I	E-CVT	Petrol Hybrid	92
Toyota	Prius (MY 2009)	T Spirit w/ Solar Panel 1.8VVT-I	E-CVT	Petrol Hybrid	89
Volkswagen	New Polo	1.2 TDI 75PS BlueMotion	M5	Diesel	89
Volkswagen	New Golf	1.6 TDI 105PS BlueMotion	M5	Diesel	99
Volvo	C30 (MY 2011)	DRIVe	M6	Diesel	99
Volvo	C30 (MY 2011)	DRIVe	M6	Diesel	99
Volvo	S40 (MY 2010)	DRIVe	M6	Diesel	99
Volvo	S40 (MY 2011)	DRIVe	M6	Diesel	99
Volvo	V50 (MY 2011)	DRIVe	M6	Diesel	99
NB: Electric and plug-in hybrid cars aren’t eligible for the Greener Vehicle Discount - they have their own discount scheme.

It’s worth bearing in mind that Transport for London has committed to review the Greener Vehicle Discount in the future, so that eventually only vehicles emitting 80 g/km or less qualify. This tweak will be introduced ‘when the time is right’, but the first reassessment of the discount has been confirmed for 2012.



And finally, the area covered by the Congestion Charge is now much smaller, following the scrapping of the Western Extension zone on 4th January 2011:

Related posts:

Congestion Charge change

London Congestion Charge

Revamp for UK bike test

The current format for the UK’s motorcycle licence test was only introduced in April 2009. Consisting of two parts, the first is conducted away from the roads and includes hazard avoidance and emergency stop exercises. The second element is a road riding assessment, which lasts for at least thirty minutes.



However, the system has received a lot of criticism. In particular, the first module has been slated for its content, as well as the number and geographic spread of the locations where it is carried out. Additionally, there have been calls to make the test a single event, rather than being split into two distinct parts that can rarely be taken on the same day.

In response, the government commenced a review back in June 2010, and the Department for Transport has now announced its initial proposals.



The aim is to return to a single, on-road test. This could mean that the hazard manoeuvre is carried out on the public road, provided the assessment still complied with EU standards. Meanwhile, the slow speed exercises (u-turn, slalom and figure of eight) might be delegated to examiners at training centres ahead of the main test.



Wisely, perhaps, the changes aren’t going to be rushed through. With the details still needing a lot of work, the plan is to trial the proposals in the early part of 2011, followed by a public consultation. The target would then be to introduce the new test during late 2011 or early 2012.

Speed camera openness

The UK government’s Department for Transport has announced proposals that could see information being published about the country’s numerous speed cameras.



Under the plan, statistics released might include accident rates at camera sites, recorded vehicle speeds and the number of offenders prosecuted or alternatively offered speed awareness courses.

Road Safety Minister, Mike Penning, said, “Public bodies should be accountable and if taxpayers' money is being spent on speed cameras then it is right that information about their effectiveness is available to the public.



“The proposals I have announced today will help show what impact cameras are having on accident and casualty rates and also how the police are dealing with offenders. This is in line with our commitment to improve transparency of government data so that the public are able to make more informed judgements about the work of local and central government.”



At least the government is now referring to them as ‘speed cameras’, instead of the disingenuous ‘safety cameras’.



While this spirit of glasnost is to be welcomed, such data on its own may be pretty much useless. The number of accidents (and injuries sustained) that occurred before a speed camera was installed would have to be known too, otherwise it’s impossible to judge whether the camera is effective or not. Even then, the actual causes of crashes at the site would also have to be disclosed to see how many were actually speed-related.



One important thing that the proposals seem to ignore is what then happens with the results? Will a camera be removed if it can be demonstrated that it plays no role in road safety? Will a particular speed limit be raised to a more appropriate level if it’s found that there are minimal speed-related accidents? If it’s just business as usual, and nothing is done, then publishing the data in the first place seems rather pointless.



The Department for Transport will be consulting with the Highways Agency, police forces and local authorities to decide exactly what will be revealed. It’s intended that data will be made available to the public from April 2011.

Nine electric cars get grant

The UK’s Department for Transport has announced the first nine models that will be eligible for its Plug-in Car Grant.



Beginning in January 2011, the scheme will see buyers able to claim 25% off the list price (up to a maximum of £5,000) per qualifying vehicle. The government has allocated £43M for the grants up until the end of March 2012, with a review of the programme’s viability beyond that date scheduled for January 2012.



The nine are:

Manufacturer	Model	First UK Deliveries	Price
Mitsubishi	i-MiEV	January 2011	£23,990 including grant
smart	fortwo electric drive	January 2011	TBC. Available to lease in limited volumes from January 2011 ahead of full series production starting in 2012
Peugeot	iOn	January 2011	Only available via four year lease at £415 plus VAT per month
Nissan	Leaf	March 2011	£23,990 including grant
Tata	Vista EV	March 2011	TBC
Citroën	CZero	Early 2011	Only available via four year lease at £415 plus VAT per month
Vauxhall	Ampera	Early 2012	£28,995 including grant
Toyota	Prius Plug-in Hybrid	Early 2012	TBC. Currently only available to lease in limited volumes
Chevrolet	Volt	Early 2012	TBC

smart fortwo electric drive

Although it looks like there’ll be plenty for customers to choose from, the choice isn’t as wide as it first appears. The Peugeot and Citroën are essentially re-badged versions of the Mitsubishi, while the Ampera shares its underpinnings with the Volt.

Peugeot iOn

Business Minister Mark Prisk said: “Today’s news that motorists will be able to choose from at least nine cars under the consumer incentive scheme… will further reinforce the message that the UK is Europe’s leading producer of ultra low carbon vehicles."



Unfortunately the last part of that particular statement shouldn’t be taken at face value just yet. The only model on the list that is definitely confirmed for UK production is the Nissan Leaf. However, domestic manufacturing will only start in 2013, with cars being imported from Japan until then.



Meanwhile, GM Europe has yet to decide whether the Vauxhall Ampera will be built at Ellesmere Port in England, but it has confirmed that the Ampera’s UK price will be £28,995 after the Plug-in car Grant has been applied.

Vauxhall Ampera

A surprising inclusion is the Tata Vista EV, mainly because it’s an unknown quantity in the UK. Apparently it has been developed from the Indica Vista, the previous version of which was the basis for the almost universally unloved and derided CityRover.

Tata Indica Vista

Tata Motors European Technical Centre in Warwick has been involved in the project, and the rumour is that the Vista EV may be built in the UK. A location has yet to be disclosed so, unless there has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes, an on-sale date of March 2011 seems very optimistic unless the initial cars are going to be imported from India. And then there’s the slight issue of not having a dealer network to sell through. Maybe Tata will use the showrooms of its Jaguar and Land Rover subsidiaries?



Related posts:

Leaf is Car of the Year

US to get wider i-MiEV

SMMT Electric Car Guide

Mitsubishi i-MiEV costs

UK i-MiEV prices slashed

Electric car grants saved

PSA goes electric

The future’s electric

SMMT Electric Car Guide

The UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has published an Electric Car Guide.



Aimed at anyone thinking of going electric, it sets out to answer all the questions that potential customers are bound to have.



One sure uncertainty will be the financial aspects of electric car ownership, and so the guide includes some theoretical running cost estimations. These compare a non-specific, typical, mid-size diesel car against a purely electric model.



Although the electric car comes out with marginally better cost per mile figures after three years of ownership, the calculations suppose that a car powered by electricity will have a similar residual value to one run on diesel. The SMMT freely admits that that is a big assumption though, simply because nobody yet knows what the depreciation characteristics will be.



Nevertheless, with the OLEV Plug-in Car Grant (which will cover up to 25% of a qualifying vehicle’s price, to a maximum of £5,000) due to be offered from January 2011, the SMMT’s timing couldn’t be better.



The Electric Car Guide is now available free via the SMMT website, which can be accessed by clicking here.



Related posts:

Electric bikes ignored?

Electric car grants saved

The future's electric

Congestion Charge change

The changes to the London Congestion Charge that Mayor Boris Johnson proposed back in May have been approved.



Scheduled to come into force on 4th January 2011, the new rules mean:

• The Western Extension zone, introduced by former Mayor Ken Livingstone, is abolished.

• An increase of £2 on the daily Congestion Charge fees. Those who pay in advance or on the day of travel will have to part with £10, but leave it up until midnight the next day and it’s £12.


• The levy reduces to £9 per day if the vehicle has been registered under the new Congestion Charging Auto Pay scheme. As well as the slightly reduced cost, the other benefit is that drivers no longer need to worry about forgetting to pay, as the number of charging days a vehicle travels within the Congestion Charge area is totted up and the total amount owed is then taken automatically from a debit or credit card each month. Drivers can pre-register with Auto Pay from 22nd November 2010, but the slight drawback is that there’s an annual registration fee of £10 - and that’s per vehicle, not per driver.


• Anyone who currently avoids the Congestion Charge by driving a vehicle with nine seats or over can still do so, but they now have to make an annual payment of £10 per vehicle.


• Plug in electric hybrid vehicles qualify for the electric vehicle 100% discount. But again, each vehicle has to be registered with Transport for London for an annual fee of £10.


• The Alternative Fuel Discount is replaced by the Greener Vehicle Discount (GVD). This means that any cars - not just hybrids - that emit 100 g/km or less of CO2 and are Euro 5 compliant enjoy a 100% discount on the Congestion Charge. Unsurprisingly, each car will have to be registered at a cost of £10 every year.

However, there may be a sting in the tail. TfL has committed to reviewing the GVD so that eventually only vehicles emitting 80 g/km or less qualify. It is saying this will be introduced ‘when the time is right’, but the first reassessment of this discount has been confirmed for 2012.



The bad news for anybody about to buy a new car is that it’s not yet possible to choose one that’s future-proof against any possible GVD changes. The ‘best’ petrol / diesel car currently on sale is the 86 g/km Smart cdi fortwo fitted with the softip clutchless manual gearbox, while even the greenest hybrid - the Toyota Prius - still pumps out 89 g/km of CO2.



Related posts:

Zero Congestion Charge

London Congestion Charge

OFT probes price fixing

The UK’s Office of Fair Trading has launched an investigation into suspected price fixing by truck manufacturers.



As part of its enquiries, which are taking place under the Enterprise Act 2002 and the Competition Act 1998, the OFT earlier this week invited itself to the offices of Mercedes-Benz UK in Tongwell, Milton Keynes. Following the raid, one person was arrested but later bailed.

The Enterprise Act is a serious piece of legislation - breaches can result in criminal charges, with the possibility that individuals can be jailed for up to five years, and the company fined up to 10% of its global turnover.



A spokesman for Mercedes-Benz has said that the company "… is fully co-operating with the investigation which may take many months or more to complete."



Meanwhile, rival firms Scania, MAN and Volvo Trucks / Renault Trucks have confirmed that they have already received letters from the OFT notifying them of the investigation and requesting information. Iveco and DAF, The other two major commercial vehicle makers operating in the UK, have indicated that they are prepared to fully cooperate with the OFT probe.

Electric bikes ignored?

When the UK government announced earlier this week it was ring-fencing £43 million for Plug-in Car Grants, there was a mostly positive response from the motor industry.

However, the exclusion of electric motorcycles from the scheme has been met with criticism. The Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCI) is not too happy, and it has already contacted the Department for Transport demanding an explanation for the omission.



Quite rightly, the MCI points out that electric bikes beat congestion better than any car and so reduce journey times. Its stance is that the government should therefore be encouraging them, not ignoring them.



There is already a selection of electric motorcycles and scooters available on the market. These include the Econogo Yogo and the Zero range, with more - such as the KTM Freeride - coming soon. In general, these bikes are more expensive than their petrol-powered counterparts, due mainly to the cost of the batteries. Therefore, some cash from the government would help to narrow the price gap.

But maybe the government feels that as two-wheelers usually emit less CO2 and use less fuel than cars, the benefits of getting riders to switch to electric won’t actually be that great?



Or perhaps it’s a question of economics. One of the objectives of the Plug-in Car Grant is to encourage the development and manufacture of low emissions vehicles within the UK.



With the likelihood that the majority of electric bikes (especially scooters) would come from the Far East, the government may have already determined that including motorcycles will be of little advantage to the UK. And after all, why should it spend taxpayers’ money on grants that effectively subsidise imported products?

Electric car grants saved

The UK Plug-in Car Grant, which will cover up to 25% of the price of an electric car, has been saved. Originally announced back in March by the then Labour government, there had been fears the scheme would be scrapped by the Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition to help reduce the public spending deficit.



A decision wasn’t expected until the completion of the government’s autumn spending review, but today the Department for Transport confirmed that the money would be ring fenced.



However, the rules of engagement have changed. Whereas the original proposal had £230 million set aside over five years, there’s now only £43 million allocated for the period January 2011 to March 2012. Any available budget beyond then won’t be confirmed until January 2012.



Among the reasons given for the reprieve, Business Minister Mark Prisk said, “The consumer incentive will help Britain become one of the leading centres for the design, development and manufacture of ultra-low carbon vehicles.  It sits alongside public and private sector investment in innovation and infrastructure, leading to the creation of new highly skilled low carbon jobs.”



With the maximum per car grant still capped at £5,000, there’ll be enough in the kitty for 8,600 electric car purchases. However, contrary to Mr Prisk’s comments, it’s unlikely that many of those will be manufactured in the UK.



Although Nissan has chosen Sunderland for European production of its electric Leaf, for example, production isn’t due to start until 2013. Until then, it’ll be importing cars from Japan.



Meanwhile, General Motors has yet to confirm where the Vauxhall / Opel Ampera versions of its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid will be built. Ellesmere Port, in the UK, remains a contender though, and perhaps the government’s move is partly to influence the decision? Whatever, it’s doubtful the Ampera will be around in time to take advantage of the initial grants.



So that leaves buyers of cars such as the Turkish-built Renault Fluence Z.E., the Japanese Mitsubishi i-MiEV and the American Tesla Roadster to take advantage of the UK government’s money.

London Congestion Charge

London Mayor Boris Johnson has proposed changes to the Congestion Charge.



Good news for drivers is that the Western Extension zone would be abolished, effective from 24 December 2010.

Perhaps not so good is the cost of driving in the remaining Congestion Charge area, which is set to increase. Currently the daily fee is £8 if paid in advance or on the day, or £10 if paid the day after, but both these amounts would increase by £2 under the Mayor’s plans.



To help those who make a habit of forgetting to pay the charge (and consequently earn themselves Penalty Charge Notices, i.e. fines), they’ll be able to register with a proposed new Congestion Charging Auto Pay scheme. Basically it does as the name implies - register a credit or debit card, and it’ll automatically be billed each time the Congestion Charge zone is entered. Under the system the daily charge is reduced to £9, but users will have to pay £10 annually to participate.



A major change that’s being planned - and one which will be important to anyone thinking of buying a car to use in central London - is the scrapping of the Alternative Fuel Discount (AFD), which meant that any vehicle not powered solely by petrol or diesel qualified for a 100% discount on the Congestion Charge.



In its place will be the Greener Vehicle Discount (GVD). This makes sense, since under GVD rules any vehicles (including non-hybrids) that emit 100 g/km or less of CO2 and are Euro 5 compliant will now be eligible for the 100% discount, subject to a £10 annual registration fee.



Cars qualifying for the GVD would include:

• Audi A3 1.6 TDI 105 Stop Start


• Citroen C3 1.6 HDi 90 Airdream


• Citroen DS3 1.6 HDi 90 Dstyle


• Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCI Econetic


• Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi 109 Econetic


• Peugeot 207 1.6 HDi 90 Economiqe


• Smart Fortwo 0.8 CDI cabrio and coupe


• SEAT Ibiza 1.4 TDCi Ecomotive


• SEAT Leon 1.6 TDI 105 Ecomotive


• Skoda Fabia Greenline


• Toyota Auris 1.8 VVT-I HSD


• Toyota Prius


• Toyota iQ


• Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 CTDi ecoFLEX


• Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TDI BlueMotion


• Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI 105 BlueMotion


• Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe

However, cars currently eligible for the AFD that wouldn’t meet GVD criteria (and therefore would have to pay the full Congestion Charge) are:

• Honda Civic Hybrid saloon (109 g/km CO2)


• Honda CR-Z (117 g/km CO2)


• Honda Insight (101 g/km CO2)


• Lexus GS 450h (179 g/km CO2)


• Lexus LS 600h (218 g/km CO2)


• Lexus RX 450h (148 g/km CO2)

It was a mockery of the AFD that those Lexus models ever qualified. Nevertheless, as a concession to owners of vehicles no longer exempt if the GVD is introduced, the 100% discount will continue for two years until 24 December 2012, provided the car is registered under the AFD scheme before 24 December 2010.



Finally, the current 100% discount for fully electrically propelled vehicles would continue, with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles also being included in this discount category for the first time.



The proposed changes are in the consultation phase at the moment. Anyone with any views on them has to let Transport for London know by 2 August 2010.

UK motorists mugged

Fuel prices in the UK are soon set to rise by another three pence, pushing the cost of petrol to around £1.20 per litre - that’s an incredible £5.46 per gallon.



This latest increase is due to government plans to raise fuel duty on 1 April. But it hides bigger issues.



The last time prices approached £1.20 per litre was in 2008, following the dramatic increase in wholesale oil prices to $147 per barrel. Oil is now ‘only’ $80 per barrel, yet clearly pump prices have not fallen by a similar 45% in the meantime.

That’s partly because speculators have kept wholesale petrol prices high, with marked increases since late January. Such activity obviously has a direct effect on retail prices.



As expected, motoring groups are urging that the impending fuel duty increase should be delayed or abandoned, in an attempt to soften the impact on drivers.



Members of Parliament are also joining the calls for postponement, with Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle even claiming, ‘Motorists are being legally mugged at the forecourt by petrol companies’.



A nice sentiment, although maybe expressed with the forthcoming general election in mind.



Perhaps Mr Hoyle has also forgotten that the government is a willing accomplice to the mugging, seeing as fuel duty and VAT combined account for over 60% of petrol prices. The last fuel increase in December 2009, and the reversion of VAT to 17.5% on 1 January 2010, certainly helped motorists to empty their wallets a bit quicker, too.



Never has an electric car seemed more appealing.

The future's electric

Well it is according to the UK Government’s Department of Transport. It has launched, via the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), a scheme to help with the purchase of electric cars.



The Plug-in Car Grant will cover up to 25% of the vehicle’s price, to a maximum of £5,000, and it’ll be available to both private and business users.



Application of the subsidy is going to work in a similar way to the scrappage scheme: the dealer will simply deduct it from the invoice when the car is bought. No form-filling needed to retrospectively claim the cash.



£230 million has been set aside, so that’s a potential 46,000 electric cars.



The money is due to be available from January 2011, but the rules are strict. Cars will have to fit into one of three categories to qualify:



1. All-electric (electric motor powered by a rechargeable battery)

2. Plug-in hybrid (powered by both mains-rechargeable batteries and an internal combustion engine)

3. Hydrogen fuel cell powered



That means there’s no point in rushing out to your Lexus dealer to order that hybrid RX 450h. You can’t plug it into the mains, so it’s not eligible.

Neither, for the same reason, is the environmentalists’ favourite, the Toyota Prius.

Does that mean that the UK’s most popular plug-in electric vehicle, the Reva G-Wiz, will have OLEV’s cash all to itself? Er, no… it’s not eligible either because it’s classed as a quadricycle, not a car.

Even if the G-Wiz was a car, its performance would rule it out. OLEV is also stipulating that eligible all-electric cars must have a range of at least 70 miles (113 km), and be able to hit 60 mph (96 kph). The G-Wiz fails on both counts, running out of charge at 48 miles and only managing 50 mph flat out.



So that might not leave too much choice. One possible contender is the City from Norwegian firm Think. It has a range of 112 miles (180 km), and can just achieve the magic 60 mph top speed. Like all manufacturers though, Think will first have to apply to the government before being considered for the scheme.

The Nissan Leaf, due for a European launch at the end of this year, could be a major player. Nissan’s Sunderland facility is in the running to build it, and that will be an important factor for some UK consumers when choosing an electric car.

Chevrolet is also scheduled to launch its plug-in hybrid Volt towards the end of 2010, albeit only in North America. UK sales of the right-hand-drive Vauxhall version, the Ampera, won’t however begin until 2012.

Of course, electric cars aren’t much good if they can’t be recharged. To address this, the government has also earmarked £30 million for 11,000 Plugged In Places - or public recharging points in plain English. The only trouble is that these will be restricted initially to London, Milton Keynes and the North East, with only 2,500 being installed in the first year.



Assuming you’ve found an eligible car, and there’s somewhere to recharge the thing, is it really going to be green? It’s the thorny issue of where all that electricity actually comes from.



In the UK, around a third of electricity is generated from coal, with over 40% coming from natural gas. That means roughly only a quarter is produced from non-fossil fuel sources, the bulk of that being nuclear. Only 6% currently comes from renewables.



Nevertheless, the government reckons that all-in-all, an electric car will be responsible for 40% less CO2 than a normal car. But even so, more electric cars won’t significantly reduce the country’s dependence on dwindling fossil fuel stocks, most of which are imported.



In time, achieving the two symbiotic goals of energy self-reliance and true zero emissions vehicles will probably have to mean increased renewables as well as more nuclear power. And the latter is as unpalatable to some as greenhouse gases.



Assuming the Plug-in Car Grant is successful (and who knows whether it’ll survive a potential change in government after this year’s general election) expect a new road safety campaign to be launched shortly afterwards. Otherwise, there’s going to be a lot of people getting run over by all those silent cars.