Iveco is lobbying the Department for Transport (DfT) to extend the Reduced Pollution Certificate (RPC) for enhanced environmentally friendly vehicles (EEV) after the Euro-5 deadline passes on 1 October 2009.
Under current regulations, HGVs fitted with a Euro-5 engine, and registered before the October deadline, will enjoy a reduced rate of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) worth
as much as £500 annually for the life of the truck.
Iveco, whose entire range of trucks now comes standard as an EEV, wants the DfT to continue incentivising the purchase of 'greener' vehicles long after the Euro-5 deadline.
Martin Flach, Iveco product director, says: "The EEV standard lies somewhere between Euro-5 and Euro-6 and we've urged the government not to drop the RPC altogether, but rather to change it in a way that it still urges people to buy EEVs."
By optimising the combustion process in a Euro-5 engine, manufacturers such as Volvo and Iveco have managed to reduce particulate emissions further. Tougher Euro-6 legislation will force truck manufacturers to reduce emission levels even more, but conversely this will have an adverse affect on fuel consumption.
Ray Cattley, environmental and legislation manager for Volvo Trucks, says: "With ever-tougher laws, we need to constantly
refine and improve our product and by extending the RPC past Euro-5, customers will benefit and so will the environment."
Reed Business Information Limited.©2009
