Car scrappage scheme sparks switch to greener vehicles

Manfacturers see rise in demand for smaller, fuel-efficient cars
Adam Vaughan
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 22 October 2009 13.32 BST

The government's car scrappage scheme has had a surprisingly positive environmental effect. Motorists buying new cars through the scheme, that was introduced at this year's budget, are opting for greener and smaller models than the average new car buyer, industry figures reveal.
When the UK scrappage scheme began in May it was roundly criticised by environmental campaigners and commentators for not enforcing fuel efficiency standards for new cars bought through the scheme. But figures released by the car manufacturers' trade association SMMT this week show the scheme has had a surprising green halo, with new cars bought through it emitting 10.9% less (16g/km CO2) than the average new car.
Scrappage buyers were also three times more likely than average to buy the smallest class of car - "minis" such as the Smart Fortwo - and a third more cars bought through the scheme were larger "superminis" such as the Hyundai i10. New cars bought through the scheme had average CO2 emissions of 131.1g/km CO2, 27.4% below the average CO2 (181.9g/km CO2) of the scrapped cars.
By 2015, average emissions across European fleets will have to emit less than 130g/km CO2 under EU law. The UK was recently criticised by transport campaigners for lagging behind other European countries such as Portugal, Italy and Spain on average CO2 levels from new cars.
The SMMT figures cover 80% of the 178,253 cars registered between May and September through the scheme, which has been warmly welcomed by the industry. Paul Everitt, SMMT's chief executive, said, "Since launching, the scrappage incentive scheme has provided a welcome boost to new car registrations. Not only is it helping to reduce average CO2 emissions, but it is putting safer vehicles on our roads."
But environmental campaigners warned the emissions cuts were simply incidental. Tony Bosworth, Friends of the Earth's transport campaigner, said: "We're pleased that people are buying less polluting new cars, but we mustn't be fooled into thinking that this was a deliberate aim of the scrappage scheme. Ministers must do far more to encourage low-carbon development and take tough action to ensure that greener cars are bought and driven. And the motor industry, which has consistently opposed tough measures to tackle climate change, must be forced to get serious about cutting emissions."
The switch to greener cars as a result of the UK scrappage scheme echoes the pattern set by the US "cash-for-clunkers" scheme, which saw SUVs and pick-up trucks account for 83% of the most-traded cars. The US administration claimed new cars bought through the programme were 63% less polluting than the old ones, though campaigners criticised it as an costly method of reducing carbon emissions.
The SMMT data follows preliminary analysis by experts earlier this year that suggested scrappage buyers were switching to smaller and more efficient cars