A post-Budget poll has revealed that 50% of people thinking about buying a new car are now significantly less likely to buy a high-emissions vehicle.

Direct Line Car Insurance commissioned Opinium Research to conduct the survey of over 2000 UK adults to assess the demand for high-emissions vehicles in the wake of the government’s new vehicle tax regime.

A further 14% of respondents said that they were ‘a little less likely’ to purchase a petrol-guzzling vehicle like a four-wheel drive. In all nearly two thirds of the total said that their future vehicle buying decisions were going to be affected by the tax hike.

Men in general and drivers over the age of 55 were most likely to be put off buying high-emission vehicles in the future. Of those aged between 18 and 34, only 44% said their buying decisions would be affected by the levy.

Jennifer Culley, of Direct Line, said that the shift in public opinion demonstrated that by hitting people’s pockets, the Chancellor has made a difference to vehicle buying behaviour. “Darling has made people think twice before heading to the forecourt”.

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Here’s a handy guide to the new car tax bands as announced in the March 2008 Budget. 

The thirteen tax bands are calculated by the amount of CO2 your car produces.

Any car producing under 100 CO2 g/km range is not taxable at all, whereas gas guzzlers including top-end sports cars to Mercvedes SUVs will pay a whopping £440 per annum.

Band M - £440 road tax
Band L - £415 road tax
Band K - £300 road tax
Band J - £260 road tax
Band I - £205 road tax
Band H - £175 road tax
Band G - £150 road tax
Band F - £120 road tax
Band E - £110 road tax
Band D - £90 road tax
Band C - £30 road tax
Band B - £20 road tax
Band A - no road tax

Find your car on our 2008 Car Tax Chart

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Prior to his first budget, Alistair Darling decided to delay applying the 2p charge to fuel tax for another six months.

At the risk of damaging his green budget this year, Darling has taken into consideration the rapid rise in the price of oil as well as increased pressure from motoring organizations and consumers. 

Darling was keen to show the consumer his concern over rapidly rising costs. The reason for the eventual application of the tax in six months time is environmental and will be applied to the price of fuel at the time. 

Fuel tax has long been an issue amongst business owners who rely upon fuel to make a living as well as the environmentalists who see a tax on fuel as the only way to cut down on emissions. 

Vehicle congestion is seen as a key contributor to climate change and the car driver has been heavily penalised in an effort to make the larger less fuel efficient vehicles unattractive to new car buyers.  

The 4×4 has already come under attack through Ken Livingstone’s low emission charges and will be affected the most when the fuel tax is eventually introduced. 

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Drivers will soon have the option of paying a toll to drive in the fast lane or hard shoulder of the UK’s busiest motorways. Extra lanes will be made available to enable drivers to opt to use a toll lane on the motorway.

The extra lane will be taken from the hard shoulder or will be added to the most over congested motorways. The toll will apply to all drivers with the exception of those travelling with at least one passenger who may be allowed free access at certain times of the day.

Drivers will use pre-pay tags on display in windscreens that can be picked up from overhead CCTV cameras, similar to those used for congestion charging. 

The cost has not yet been decided but in the USA where this system is already in place, the charge is equivalent to about £5.

The motorways that are likely to be picked out to participate are: parts of the MI, M4, M3, M5, M6, M20, M23 and M62. Plans to abandon the widening of these roads in favour of the tolls will save the highways agency in the region of £1 billion.

Heads of business welcomed the announcement whilst expressing concern that use of the hard shoulder would not be as beneficial as widening the road in the long term.

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