French-owned car giant Vauxhall was last night accused of ‘breathtaking cheek’ after suggesting motorists in Britain should pay an extra tax at the pumps to combat air pollution.
In written evidence to a parliamentary inquiry into air quality, the firm said an ‘immediate short term step that can be taken by government is to tax fuel at the pump.’
It suggested the levy would be called an ‘Air Quality Subsidy’ and would be a ‘good solution to tackle the immediate problem head on’.
French-owned car maker Vauxhall has been criticised for recommending a new fuel levy to target the biggest polluters
The firm, which was sold by US giant GM Motors to the owner of Peugeot-Citroen for £1.9billion in March, claimed this would focus on the ‘short term air quality challenge, which is older vehicles’.
It said an extra levy on tax ‘equally spreads the cost over all drivers’ rather than ‘disproportionately affect low income earners’.
It added that a levy at the pumps would mean people are taxed according to how much they drive, supporting the ‘polluter pays’ principle.
But Vauxhall also stressed that another advantage of the levy would that ‘there would be no impact on the price of purchasing a new vehicle’.
Car manufacturers are worried that Chancellor Philip Hammond is set to announce higher taxes on heavily-polluting diesel cars at the budget next week in an attempt to tackle air pollution.
They are already in panic mode after sales of new diesel cars slumped last month by almost a third compared to October last year.
The firm said in a parliamentary inquiry that an ‘immediate short term step that can be taken by government is to tax fuel at the pump’ in a bid to combat air pollution
Motorists have been spooked by health warnings as well as fears of government tax hikes and charges for driving into town centres.
But Vauxhall’s submission – one of more than 150 published yesterday by government spending watchdog the National Audit Office – has incensed motoring and environmental campaigners.
Julian Knight, Tory MP for Solihul said: ‘For car manufacturer to suggest a new tax on fuel is staggering – a breathtaking cheek.
‘They sold these cars in the first place.’
Many people who they sold diesels to over the years will be rightly furious for saying they should be taxed for trusting diesels were meant to be lower emitting.
Howard Cox, founder of motoring campaign group FairFuelUK said: ‘How dare Vauxhall whose costly vehicles contribute to air pollution, deem it right that driver’s costs of filling up should rise to pay for their mistakes.
‘This passing the buck is on a monumental scale of disrespect to their customers and the economy.’
The entire car manufacturing industry has come under suspicion after it emerged that VW had routinely fitted devices to vehicles to cheat diesel emissions tests.
Car makers are being investigated by regulators across the world, although Vauxhall and its sister company were cleared by German and French authorities in March of using diesel cheat devices.
But earlier this year it was accused by a hacker of using a computer code that enables its diesel cars to pass EU pollution tests while allowing emissions to surge when the vehicles are used on the road.
Scientists have found Vauxhall’s diesel models to be among the most polluting vehicles on the road despite performing well in laboratory tests.
Analysis by the company Emissions Analytics showed the latest Vauxhalls emit on average 5.5 times the legal nitrogen oxides, or NOx, limit when driven on the road. VW models are only 1.9 times the limit.
Critics of the proposals said that Vauxhall should consider its role in combating air pollution before handing out advice
Motorists already pay around 78p in tax on a litre of diesel costing just under 123p. This includes 57.95p in fuel duty as well as VAT.
There are already concerns that the Chancellor increase will fuel duty in the budget next week, ending a seven year freeze.
Fuel duty is expected to raise £27.5billion for the Treasury this tax year.
Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, said: ‘Vauxhall should get its own house in order before giving out advice on air pollution.
‘This is a car company which has spent years making profit from dirty diesel vehicles which have contributed to the UK’s toxic air.
‘Fair taxes on fuel have a valuable part to play in cleaning up our air. But it would be in vain if car manufacturers like Vauxhall continue shirking their own responsibility for tackling the air pollution crisis.’
A Vauxhall spokesperson said: ‘We need to be clear that there is no easy answer to the challenge of raising revenue for the air quality plan.
‘Penalising the latest diesel technology, which will help the solution, is a blunt policy tool and not the quickest way to raise revenue for this important policy. We are merely suggesting, after independent analysis was sought, that there are other options that could be considered rather than raising revenue through VED.
‘This is just one example – we are not specific on the fuel type, or the amount raised, which could be less than 0.5p.’