The cost of green cars is the main obstacle to selecting a green model

(03/06/2009)

The latest poll from TheGreenCarWebsite has revealed that the cost associated with going green is the biggest obstacle preventing the sale of greener cars. 33 per cent of visitors said that the cost of green cars compared to regular car models was the main obstacle to selecting a green model.

This is no misconception either: TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk looked at some of the most popular ‘green car’ models (the ones with the lowest CO2 emission ratings) and found that many of the greener variants were substantially more expensive than the basic entry level models. In fact, TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk’s research found it could cost you as much as £4,760 more to buy the green badged variant compared to the basic model. To recoup the additional outlay you would need to drive as much as 198, 690 miles to benefit from the difference in fuel efficiency. That is equivalent to driving round the world eight times.

With many of the carmakers introducing brands to denote and draw attention to their very greenest variants, names such as Ford’s ECOnetic, Volkswagen’s Bluemotion and Volvo’s DRIVe spring to mind, the cost could be a major obstacle to their success.

As the EU has set target for average fleet CO2 emission of 95g/km by 2020, TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk is calling for the government to do more to boost the popularity of the greenest cars, if there is to be any hope of meeting this target.

Editor for TheGreenCarWebsite, Faye Sunderland comments:"As it stands there is not enough incentive to the consumer to select the greenest variant of a car model; more needs to be done to support the sale of green cars. With a third of our visitors being put off buying a green car due to the cost, it should deeply concern the industry that the market for these cars is being priced out. The recently announced £5,000 grant for electric and hybrid cars due in 2011 should instead be applied to any vehicle which meets emission target below 90g/km of CO2, to aide the UK in meeting targets for reducing CO2 and encourage the development of the very most frugal vehicles. This would provide a real stimulus to the uptake of highly efficient cars."

Sadly many other website visitors stated simply that they could not afford to buy a newer model, (taking 26 per cent of the vote) despite the recent introduction of the scrappage scheme, designed to make new cars more affordable and boost car sales.

TheGreenCarWebsite asked “What would be your main reason not to choose one of the greenest petrol or diesel cars available as your next car?” The full results were:
* Too expensive compared to other new cars (33%)
* I can’t afford to buy a newer model(26%)
* Not big enough (14%)
* I don’t know which cars are really green (10%)
* I prefer the safety of a bigger vehicle (9%)
* I prefer something more luxurious (8%)

TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk’s research showed that:

Entry level Ford Fiesta 1.25 studio petrol has a list price of: £9,995 OTR
Cheapest diesel variant, the Studio 1.4 TDCi 3dr has a list price of: £11,595 OTR
The green variant Ford Fiesta, the Econetic 1.6 TDCi has a list price of: £13, 195 OTR
That’s a £3,200 difference between the cheapest petrol and the green variant and £1,600 between the cheapest diesel model and the green variant.

The entry level Polo 1.2 E petrol has a list price of: £8345 OTR
Cheapest diesel variant, the 1.4 Match TDI has a list price of: £11,610 OTR
The green variant, Bluemotion 1.4 1 3dr with a list price of: £13,105 OTR
That’s a £4,760 difference between the cheapest petrol model and the green variant and £1,495 between the cheapest diesel model and the green variant.

The entry level Astra Express 1.4i V petrol has a list price of: £13, 150 OTR
Cheapest diesel variant, the Astra Life 1.3 CDTi has a list price of: £16,495 OTR
The green variant Astra Life 1.7 CDTi ecoFLEX has a list price of: £17,700 OTR
That’s a £4,550 difference between the cheapest petrol model and the green variant and £1,205 between the cheapest diesel model and the green variant.

TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk took these price differences and worked out how long it would take to recoup the initial additional cost due to the added fuel efficiency of the greenest models. TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk used current petrol prices taken from PetrolPrices.com on May 28, 2009 to assume a cost of 99.8 pence per litre for petrol and 103.8 pence per litre for diesel. They also took the combined MPG figures to base the calculations on, to work the cost per mile.

For the Fiesta, they calculated that you would have to drive 128, 514 miles to recoup the added expense between the petrol model (at 8.68 pence per mile) and the Econetic model (at 6.19 pence per mile) or 142, 857 miles to recoup the added expense between the cheap diesel model (7.03 pence per mile) and the Econetic model.

For the Polo, they calculated that you would have to drive 160, 810 miles to recoup the added expense between the petrol model (at 9.81 pence per mile) and the Bluemotion (at 6.36 pence per mile) or 126, 879 miles to recoup the added expense between the cheap diesel (at 7.52 pence per mile) and the Bluemotion.

For the Astra, they calculated that you would have to drive 198,690 miles to recoup the added expense between the petrol (at 9.81 pence per mile) and the ecoFLEX ( at 7.52 pence per mile) or 177,205 miles to recoup the added expense between the cheap diesel (at 8.20 pence per mile) and the ecoFLEX.

Related categories:  Ford   Hybrid and electric car   Vauxhall   Volkswagen