5 ms·
UK car tax is currently based on vehicle type- but it's based on CO2 emissions https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-ta
by Angostura 3y ago
UK car tax is currently based on vehicle type- but it's based on CO2 emissions https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables
typically this is related to weight/size - except in the case of electric vehicles which are heavier than their ICE counterparts
- rob74 3y agoThis (and tax subsidies) is the reason behind the proliferation of large plug-in-hybrid SUVs - being a plug-in hybrid lowers CO2 emissions (at least on paper), but in practice many/most owners will never actually charge the car, so the CO2 emissions will be even more unrealistic than they already are.
- Pet_Ant 3y agoThis doesn’t address needlessly large EVs that damage roads and are a threat to pedestrians and bicyclists. These larger EVs are also inefficient use of battery cells than they’d be in smaller vehicles. Would love to see more Mini/Smart car EVs
- mytailorisrich 3y agoA Tesla is heavier than a petrol Range Rover. All EVs are heavy.
- wcoenen 3y agoThe weight difference of comparable ICE cars and EVs is sometimes surprisingly small when you look at the variant of the EV model with the smaller battery. For example, the BMW X3 is 1670 kg. The Tesla Model Y (SR RWD) is 1778 kg.
- oblio 3y agoThat's only for big cars. The smallest Tesla is a D-segment car, cars around 4.7m: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-segment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-segment There are 3 different car categories smaller than the smallest Tesla. For smaller cars, EVs are a mess, they're between 25 and 40% heavier than equivalent ICEs, that's a humongous difference.
- oblio 3y agoWell, they did say this: > Would love to see more Mini/Smart car EVs Teslas are big cars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-segment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-segment, they're not Minis. The smallest Tesla is 4.7m long. There are 3 car categories smaller than the smaller Tesla. But yeah, EVs are heavy.
- Pet_Ant 3y agoThe larger an EV is the less efficient it is because it has to carry the unloaded battery with it, and it needs more battery for the same function. I don't have the number but I would bet that the energy need is a square of the vehicle weight. It's the same problem rockets have where they have to expend fuel just to carry fuel.
- sofixa 3y ago> Would love to see more Mini/Smart car EVs The Renault Zoe was a best seller in some countries because it's a great city car. Sadly Renault have cut back production due to diminishing margins due to supply chain issues (official version), which is a shame. There's also the Fiat 500 EV.
- fomine3 3y agoIt's sad that MINI/Smart are no longer small.
- jakub_g 3y agoAlso, there was an article recently that (at least in US) the CO2 emission norms are not absolute but relative to car size; to the absurd point that to fit into the norms, it's easier to make the car bigger, rather than to lower the emissions of a smaller car. Hence, SUVs.
- Angostura 3y agoAbsolute in the UK
- Angostura 3y agoI'm not sure I have seen many large plug-in hybrids on UK roads
- cjrp 3y agoSeeing more Volvo SUV PHEVs recently, big ones too.
- fomine3 3y agoPHEV shouldn't be sold to who don't have slow charging equipment at home. It's one of the best solution with home charger.