Steep Green Car Prices Affecting Demand

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Thu, 04 Jun 2009

UK car buyers are being discouraged from going green due to the steep costs associated with eco-friendly cars, new research has revealed.

A survey by TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk found that one in three motorists cite the higher prices of electronic / hybrid cars compared with regular diesel and petrol models as the biggest obstacle to upgrading to a greener vehicle .

The website studied the prices of the most popular green cars – the ones with the lowest CO2 emission ratings - and found that many were substantially more expensive than the basic, entry-level models, with one eco-car costing £4,760 more than the standard model.

It said that the government must to do more to boost the popularity of green vehicles if there is to be any hope of the EU meeting its average fleet CO2 emission target of 95g/km by 2020.

Faye Sunderland, editor of TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk, said: "As it stands there is not enough incentive to the consumer to select the greenest variant of a car model; more needs to be done to support the sale of green cars .

"With a third of our visitors being put off buying a green car due to the cost, it should deeply concern the industry that the market for these cars is being priced out."

She added: "The recently announced £5,000 grant for electric and hybrid cars due in 2011 should instead be applied to any vehicle which meets emission target below 90g/km of CO2, to aide the UK in meeting targets for reducing CO2 and encourage the development of the very most frugal vehicles ."

"This would provide a real stimulus to the uptake of highly efficient cars ."