Motor News Pressure for action to avert extra VRT and road tax on new-car buyers as new emissions test bites Close 1/1 Ciaran McMahon Gallery 1 Ciaran McMahon

Pressure for action to avert extra VRT and road tax on new-car buyers built again this week amid claims the new WLTP emissions test results were starting to impact.

I have already reported how Ford Ireland chief Ciaran McMahon (pictured) warned the tax band-busting new data could add as much as €3,000 to the average price of a car (Irish Independent, Friday).

But there are other areas impacted. Ford, for example, has already taken its 1.5-litre diesel Mondeo model off the market (it accounted for 60pc of the car's total sales) because new emission levels made it too costly. Even the brand's Mondeo hybrid model has been hit with a €300 price increase. According to Mr McMahon similar scenarios are playing out elsewhere.

Irish buyers are vulnerable because our road tax and VRT are based on emissions. The new WLTP system is, mostly, yielding higher emission figures than the old NEDC method. The stricter testing means lots of cars will slip into costlier VRT and road-tax bands.

It is being mooted by the motor industry that the government might consider bringing in an interim set of tweaked tax bands so new clean cars are not penalised and come up with a fine-tuned solution after more extensive data has been gathered in the lead-in to the final 2021 deadline.

Manufacturers could also be forced into reducing the range of trim and options on cars because variations will in future be individually assessed. So a car with a sunroof will have different WLTP figures than one without, and the same for wheels etc. Mr McMahon says three option packs will become the norm for many makers.

The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) has also re-iterated its call for governments to bring in an interim tax-band system.

A spokeswoman told Independent Motors an official tightening of emission limits means the current 2021 Co2 target is now 5pc more stringent.

"The impact on taxation revenue could be substantial (in) several member states," she stressed. ACEA is asking for a "taxation neutral transition" to ensure buyers do not bear increased costs.

Importantly, each member state can decide when it will implement the full shift to WLTP. The earliest WLTP taxation will be applied is from July 2018 (Denmark). The latest would be 2021.

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