1:36 pm, July 23, 2008
FUEL worth £1bn a year could be saved if motorists chose the greenest car possible from the sector they were buying in.
They’re not, because they are completely in the dark as to what CO2 actually is.
The Energy Saving Trust has found that people are making poor choices, both environmentally and ecologically, despite there being plenty of ‘green’ motors out there.
This, apparently, is a ‘market failure’. The trust blames ‘the current market structure, where more desirable cars within vehicle model ranges tend to have higher CO2 emissions.’ That, of course, is usually because they’re faster, but never mind.
In the UK, the road transport sector produces around a quarter of CO2 emissions, with nearly 60 per cent coming from passenger cars.
The report finds that while in most consumer markets, products become more efficient and smaller as they evolve over time, this has not happened with cars. In fact, the opposite is true: cars are now larger, more powerful and heavier than they have ever been. Again, there are clear reasons why, but let’s not dissect too sharply.
Consumers not understanding the relevance of CO2 is, in short, not helping the situation… which is where you may enter the equation. We wonder if car dealers will soon be called upon to explain CO2 information to prospective buyers… and if they are, will your team be up to speed?
The findings of a wide-ranging review into the UK green car scene – called ‘Driven’ – also show that £6bn a year in fuel could be saved simply by people driving their current cars more ecologically.
