Fuel efficiency drives auto sales surge

Britons are cutting their motoring expenses by investing in fuel-effective vehicles with reduced emissions.

The quantity of alternatively-fuelled automobiles – which includes hybrids such as the Toyota Prius and the Vauxhall Ampera – purchased in the 1st 6 months of this year shot up by 51.3% on the exact same period in 2013.

And according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), registrations of pure-electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf have far more than doubled – rocketing an extraordinary 143.9% year on year.

Let’s take a closer appear at what these figures mean…

Exhaustive detail

The SMMT figures reveal that the average new car purchased in between April and June this year has CO2 emissions of 125.8g/km, down from134.6g/km at the commence of 2012.

That signifies typical new car emissions in the UK are heading in the correct path to meet a European Union CO2 target of 95g/km by 2020.

We’re still not as eco as some of our European neighbours, although.

Going Dutch

In the Netherlands, for instance, the typical new auto purchased in 2013 had CO2 emissions of just 109g/km, whilst in Greece and Portugal common new vehicles put out 111g/km of CO2.

And even if we all switch to fuel-efficient autos, we still need to make some big modifications to the way we get about to have any actual influence on the atmosphere.

Hans Bruyninckx, executive director of the European Atmosphere Agency, said: “Passenger transport still generates a important portion of total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU so we need to have to consider about more sustainable transport systems – the car cannot solve all our troubles in the 21st century.”

The government not too long ago announced that a £5 million Clean Automobile Technologies Fund has been produced available to 17 regional councils to pay for green technology to be fitted to 1,080 buses, fire engines, ambulances and taxis.

Pump down the volume

Vehicles with reduced CO2 emissions not only advantage the atmosphere, they also imply considerable savings for drivers.

In reality, reduce running costs is possibly one of the major reasons Britons are steering clear of heavily polluting vehicles in favour of cleaner, greener ones

The average new auto registered so far this year does 57.4 miles to the gallon, compared to 54.5 for these bought in the very first 3 months of 2012.

According to the SMMT, a common new loved ones vehicle these days is some 27% far more fuel-effective than one particular built just 6 years ago.

Fuel speed ahead

The total number of new cars registered in the very first half of 2014 is 1,287,265, up 10.6% on last year. The increasing appetite for fuel-effective automobiles is clearly driving this statistic.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, mentioned, “Improving economic conditions have helped the strong first half-year overall performance.

“But crucial to attracting shoppers is the ever-enhancing efficiency of new cars, an essential factor that is highlighted by the 51.3% enhance in alternatively-fuelled vehicle registrations so far this year.”

Charge of the Leaf brigade

Pure electric automobiles have also turn into considerably much more well-known.

Some 1,200 Nissan Leafs were sold in Europe in August alone.

And in the US, much more than 3,000 Leafs were sold in the exact same period – an boost of 31.7% on August 2013.

Nissan’s Brendan Jones thinks the car’s accomplishment is down to word-of-mouth: “It’s what we call the ‘cul-de-sac phenomenon.’ When an individual in a community buys a Leaf, close friends, family, co-workers and neighbours see the benefits and are sold on the thought of going electric,” he said.

More than to you – would you trade down to a fuel-efficient motor, or get a hybrid or electric, to save on running fees? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter employing the hashtag #FocusonFuel

Fuel efficiency drives auto sales surge