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Paul Barker's blog: 30 October 2012 - Green progress but also some eco inertia
Date: 30 October 2012
The myriad ways fleets can look to green their operations and therefore cut their bills continues to grow, with increasing numbers of products and services.
However, in the 12 months since BusinessCar's first green issue (our new green special magazine is out today), much of the debate over future fuels has yet to move on.
The pathway to widespread use of EVs in particular is static or has even gone backwards, thanks to the Government's decision to announce that from the 2015 tax year, EVs, with their higher purchase price, will be subject to the same BIK tax as any other car.
They'll be in the bottom band because of the 0g/km CO2 figure, but a higher-rate tax payer will go from nothing to £130 a month in tax on a car with a £30,000 P11D, and at that point the compromises that come with EVs may prove too much.
It's a move that will do much more damage to low-CO2 vehicle demand than it will bring in extra revenue, and hopefully the chancellor will rectify the situation in December's Autumn Statement or the spring 2013 Budget.
But despite troubles over the take-up of new powertrain technology, it's refreshing to see quite how much the industry is embracing the idea behind working in a more environmentally friendly way - there seems to be a culture of at least looking at new methods or products to see how they can help their business.
I've said it before, but I don't think the UK fleet industry makes enough of a fuss of the environmental progress it has made in recent years.
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