Re:Car Engines: The incredible shrinking machine
by david-given on Friday December 11, 2015 @08:13AM
(#10716862)
Car tax in the UK is based on carbon emissions. The table's here:
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables/rates-for-cars-re...
It used to be based on engine size; for years I would get cars with as small engines as possible, simply because it would drop my tax by about 1/3.
As for car sizes... it does seem to be having an effect here. A lot of people I know go for small cars, preferring the little five-door hatchbacks. My last one was a Honda Jazz, with a 1.2 litre engine and an absurd amount of space inside; under the new tax system it'd be classed in category D (£110 a year), but I'd be totally unsurprised if the next model made it into category C (£30 a year). My father has a diesel Nissan Note, about the same size, and that is in category C. He's very smug.
Re:Car Engines: The incredible shrinking machine
by david_parrott on Friday December 11, 2015 @11:32AM
(#10718021)
I drive a Vauxhall Insignia with a 2 litre 160ps engine. Also in band C. Also smug. ;-)
Norway essentially does this. Taxes are based on engine size and (I believe) weight. The relative price difference between a large SUV and a small, low horsepower, hatchback is much greater than in most other countries. However based on casual observations in and around Oslo, it doesn't seem to have a huge effect on the size of cars people drive.
The real effect is the 'everybody' owns a Tesla since they are exempt for many taxes and thus cost literally half the price of an equivalently performing petrol powered car.