Car hire customers ‘to see reduced carbon emissions’

Car hire customers may be driving more low-carbon vehicles thanks to the recession, according to one expert.

Neil Wallis, head of communications for the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, noted that it was partly due to European legislation, but also influenced by the UK’s policy on car tax.

It was important that deadlines agreed upon for reduction are met, he stated, or else the industry may have suffered some hefty sanctions.

As it stands, automobiles that emit the smallest amount of carbon dioxide get reductions in the price of their levy.

The drive to get smaller cars, which have cheaper petrol costs has helped bring about a reduction in emissions.

A recent announcement by the European Union confirmed that the fleet average to be achieved is 130g/km.

However, this will be phased in, which means that 65 per cent of new builds will have to conform by 2012, with every vehicle having to comply with the regulation by 2015.

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