Product category:
General insurance
News Release from: swiftcover.com | Subject: Insurance
Edited by the Insidemoneytalk Editorial
Team on 22 March 2007
Swiftcover.com comments on the
Government's strategy to reduce car use
As the government motors ahead with taxing gas guzzling drivers, Swiftcover.com CEO Andrew Blowers questions its strategy to reduce car use
Andrew Blowers, chief executive of online insurer swiftcover.com, comments on today's Budget news that the Government will raise road taxes for the least fuel-efficient cars to up to £400 by next year "Andrew Blowers, Chief Executive Officer at swiftcover.com, said: "Taxing motorists to discourage car use is not the answer to this country's serious environmental issue of greenhouse gas production
This article was originally published on Insidemoneytalk on 30 Mar 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Wish you were here with us on holiday say four in ten Brits
Over one in ten (14%) put in eight hours or more overtime to compensate for going on holiday
One in five suitcases end up in airlines' black hole
A fifth of travellers have forked out at least £212 million replacing lost luggage
A more effective strategy would be to reduce the cost of running environmentally-friendly cars and increase the availability of alternative fuel refuelling stations.
The Government should put its money where its mouth is by abolishing VAT on the environmentally friendly option to bring the cost more in line with standard petrol vehicles.
This would make green cars a viable alternative to their gas guzzling counterparts." Recent swiftcover.com research into drivers' attitudes towards financial incentives to reduce car use reveals only 29% of motorists would consider reducing their car use if road tax doubled*.
However, the research also revealed an overwhelming 97% of British drivers would consider buying a 'green' car, but three quarters would only do so if they were cheaper to buy (73%) and cheaper to run than their current car (70%).
The online insurer first called for the Government to abolish VAT on green drivers with an Early Day Motion tabled in December 2006, supported by Andrew Stunell, MP Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to bring the issue of affordability and green cars to the forefront of the Government's agenda.
www.swiftcover.com.
• swiftcover.com: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Insidemoneytalk Home Page
