Buyers downsize to help the environment

02 July 2007

Researchers have discovered a dramatic shift amongst new car buyers who are downsizing to more environmentally friendly vehicles.

Economists at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have found that thousands of people are now buying cars with lower CO2 emissions.

By comparing road tax bands, which are based on tailpipe CO2, the figures show 60.7% of new cars sold last year fell within the cleanest bands A-D (under 165 g/km) compared with just 43.1% in 2000. 

SMMT chief executive, Christopher Macgowan, said that there has been a noticeable shift in the new car market, partly due to concerns about motoring costs and partly because reducing climate change is important to more buyers.

However, we should not underplay significant fuel economy and C02 savings from technological advances in new models, including premium brands, he continued.

According to SMMT, recently launched British-built models highlight this improvement. The new MINI Cooper for example, built in Oxford, is 19% better on fuel economy and 16% on CO2 emissions than its predecessor.

Halewood's Land Rover Freelander2 petrol also boasts a 10% improvement on fuel consumption and emissions over the model it replaced.