Andrew Blowers, chief executive of online insurer swiftcover.com, has questioned the Government's strategy to reduce car use by taxing some motorists.
It was announced in the 2007 Budget that the Government will raise road taxes for the least fuel-efficient cars to up to £400 by next year.
Blowers said: “Taxing motorists to discourage car use is not the answer to this country's serious environmental issue of greenhouse gas production.
"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%).
