Read this if you are:
– A Fleet Manager at an SME
– A company car driver
– Confused about diesels
What seems like a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, diesel cars were the fleet manager’s dream: low CO2 meant lower road tax and, added to the better fuel economy, what wasn’t to love?
Fast-forward to the present day and diesels have been making Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn look like popularity contest winners in comparison. A rainy Bank Holiday Monday found me searching ‘diesel cars’ on Google News and three of the top four headlines that came up were:
A ban on diesel vehicles can’t come quickly enough
Number of people searching for diesel cars hits all time low
Most fuel efficient petrol cars to replace your diesel car with
The latest kick in the ribs, and pocket, for business vehicle managers was the rise in the diesel surcharge from 3% to 4% in April 2018 for cars not meeting RDE2 (which sounds like a Star Wars geek’s wet dream). Bit of a tough one to take, given that new designs had to meet RDE2 by January 2020 at the earliest, and all newly registered models by January 2021.
Currently a large variety of manufacturers are producing compliant cars. Is this the start of diesel striking back?
The latest Jaguar XF 163PS and 180PS diesel rear-wheel-drive variants are now compliant with RDE2; it says that company car drivers could save up to £2,304 over three years of ownership, with private buyers saving up to £345 in first year VED road tax.
Good news for fleet managers and, with the latest diesels delivering emissions as low as petrol, good news for the environment.
Contact us today if you need no-strings advice on car leasing.
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