The CEBR's report raises questions about the future shape of taxation and incentives in the UK. The report also explores the challenges that must be met to sustain further long-term reductions in CO2, while also continuing to deliver sufficient revenue to government.
BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney said: “The CEBR rightly recognises the huge success of the government’s incentive-based taxation regime, which has helped bring UK CO2 emissions below EU 2015 targets.
“The fleet sector has led this move towards zero emissions – with the average new lease car registered in 2014 emitting just 116.8g/km CO2, which is 7% less than the average for all new registrations in the same period.
“Air quality is a major issue for many urban areas, and the CEBR is right to say that this is best addressed by local initiatives such as congestion or low emission zones. The van market is the fastest growing sector of UK road users and it is about time that the LCV VED regime included some kind of incentive that encourages operators to choose cleaner vehicles. As the CEBR says in its report, this needs to be given careful consideration to prevent any unintended consequences for particular sectors of the van market.
“The new government will undoubtedly want to review its motoring tax strategy and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss all these issues with the Treasury,” he added.