Vehicles in the UK are taxed based on their fuel consumption and carbon emissions – the combined miles per gallon figure – at present, but that is all set to change. The system will be replaced by the new, global standard: the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (shortened to WLTP) as early as September 2017, just next month.
The UK government, however, has stated that it will continue to use the current system’s (the New European Driving Cycle, also known as NEDC) carbon dioxide (CO²) ratings in the short term, in order that high-turnover vehicle-based businesses (such as car rental businesses, for example) can remain compliant until the new system has been fully thought-out and announced for roll out.
However, concerns have been raised about the time-frame for the switch to the new WLTP system, on the grounds that the calculations and tolerances for emissions and fuel consumption are fairly drastically different. The Director of Member Services for the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), Nora Leggett, says that the association’s members need to know exactly how they will be affected and when it will come into effect – and even whether their will be a transition period along the way – in order to ensure the smooth and trouble-free operation of their businesses.
John Pryor, the Chairman of the Association of Car Fleet Operators (AFCO) agrees, saying that knowing that the legislation is set to change soon is one thing: the details are what are needed, and with some urgency. AFCO desires, Pryor said, to be given as much notice as humanly possible, so that the members of the organisation have the time to understand, implement and become accustomed to the new systems before it is made law. Pryor added that it would be reasonable to assume that new vehicles being produced would immediately fall under the new WLTP system, but reiterated that HMRC should produce some clarification either way at soon as possible.
This furore began when the UK government announced plans in July of this year to phase out fossil fuel vehicles entirely by 2040, and is only set to increase until some clarity is forthcoming, including, automotive bodies plead, in the soon to be announced autumn budget.
