ETA: Higher car tax alone will not turn cars electric

Gordon Brown’s aim that all British motorists will be driving electric or hybrid cars by 2020 will not be achieved through the use of punitive motoring taxes alone according to the Environmental Transport Association (ETA).

Recent increases in the price of fuel and road tax have contributed towards increased sales of smaller and more efficient cars, but Gordon Brown suggests that these costs will help make possible a complete switch to alternative-fuel vehicles in twelve years.

For most drivers, electric and hybrid cars are currently an expensive and impractical alternative to petrol and diesel models.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association said: “Many government ministers already have the use of a Toyota Prius hybrid car, but at almost £18,000 this type of car is out of reach for most people – high motoring taxes cannot cajole every British driver into an electric car if the market is not ready.”

If all drivers today switched from conventionally-powered vehicles to electric cars, the national grid would be unable to cope. The question of where this additional capacity would come from was not addressed by Mr Brown.

The government has also announced that it would soon begin educating motorists on “eco-driving techniques” – those passing their driving test will soon be tested on whether they can drive in an environmentally-friendly way. The ETA publishes a list of green driving tips at www.eta.co.uk


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For further information please call Yannick Read at the ETA press office on 0845 389 1064

Notes for editors

The ETA is a not-for-profit ethical organisation providing motorists with carbon-neutral breakdown cover and insurance products. As well as encouraging responsible driving to reduce carbon, the ETA campaigns for sustainable transport. www.eta.co.uk

A wholesale switch from petrol and diesel-powered cars to electric vehicles would create huge additional demand for power - the ETA has for years called for the National Grid structure and pricing to be overhauled.

The Environmental Transport Association believes that an across-the-board tax on carbon would foster the conditions needed to develop electric car technology to a stage where it represents a viable alternative to conventionally-powered vehicles. At present, electric cars do not have the range to make them practical for long journeys.

A forthcoming “fuel-efficiency tyre programme” will involve new standards for tyres in a further attempt to improve fuel efficiency. Under-inflated tyres can increase fuel consumption of cars by up to three per cent.

Research conducted by that ETA has shown that two out of three motorists have no idea how much CO2 is emitted by the car they drive