MG Car Club of South Australia
BEWARE OF PURCHASING A DIESEL
CAR OR SUV
From..Steve Spong
I
n the early 2000's the UK Govern-
ment encouraged people to buy die-
sel engine cars and SUVs due to:
1) having lower (Carbon Dioxide) CO 2
emissions
&
2) being more economical on longer
journeys.
To do this they provided tax incentives
to buyers, a move enthusiastically em-
braced by fleet purchasers as well as
many private individuals. Diesel fuel was
also kept cheaper than petrol.
The above proposal however took no
regard of the down-side of diesel fuels
over petrol, namely through the emis-
sion of increased particulate matter (free
carbon as soot) and various nitrous ox-
ide gases (NOx) over modern petrol en-
gines. Many motoring experts in fact
noted this at the time through various
technical reports.
Over the years since, there has been
increasing concerns in the UK over
health related issues resulting from die-
sel emissions as being responsible for
thousands of early deaths from respira-
tory illnesses each year. The Royal Col-
leges of Physicians and of Paediatrics
and Child Health in 2016 in fact stating
that the outdoor air pollution contributed
to around 40,000 early deaths annually
in Britain.
As a result, this policy has recently been
turned on its head by the UK Govern-
ment and diesel cars and SUVs are now
in the firing line.
review albeit fuel taxes have increased,
however major cities have already com-
menced imposing a diesel tax on cars
via emission surcharges and through
increased parking fees etc., particularly
targeting such vehicles over 2 years old.
As a result, people are very angry as
their cars have therefore been immedi-
ately devalued and the sale of new die-
sel vehicles sales has plummeted. A
mood to which the Government seems
oblivious.
Research by "BuyaCar" has indicated
that more than half of current diesel
owners are planning to change their car
for a petrol, electric or hybrid vehicle.
In April 2017 sales of UK diesel cars fell
by 20% while petrol vehicles recorded a
tiny sales increase. A year ago half of all
new cars sold were diesel models but
this has now dropped to 44%. Petrol
cars have surged in popularity over the
period and now account for more than
half of all cars sold, while hybrid and
electric cars make up almost 5% of
sales, Toyota UK noting a 40% surge in
its sales of petrol-hybrids.
Euro6 regulations on diesel fuel emis-
sions were meant to help address such
pollution issues, however it is now evi-
dent that many modern diesel vehicles
emit excessive levels of particulates and
NOx when operated in the real world, a
fact not helped by the recent VW issue
of doctoring the emissions management
system to run a "cheat" mode when un-
der test.
In Australia the above health concerns
The final extent of direct Government are in fact currently already out there.
action against such vehicles is still under The Australian Medical Association Vice
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