Email
August 30
According to a newspaper article that I have just read this week, yet another pack of lies in the guise of ‘Saving the Planet’ is about to be inflicted on motorists in Spain. Apparently, the Spanish government is planning to rip off owners of diesel engine vehicles with a tax increase to the tune of about 28% in the New Year.
How does anybody in their right mind honestly think that putting prices up produces significant reductions in usage?
For example, if a worker needs to travel say 200 km per week to go to work, this isn’t going to reduce. It will still be 200kms! Still the same amount of fuel! Just more expenditure!
Changing over to a petrol engine will be extremely costly, especially as the amount of diesel engine vehicles that could suddenly be offered for trade-in to the dealerships would be enormous and the trade-in/resale values will drastically plummet, as nobody will want to buy them!
Diesel engines use far less fuel than petrol engines. My own diesel car averages about 70mpg (25k/l); roughly, double the amount a petrol engine would produce. I should think that the amount of particles my car is distributing is therefore probably no more than its petrol engine alternative as it uses less fuel.
Then of course, we have public transport; buses, trains and most taxis as well as just about every lorry on the roads.
All of these transport methods use diesel as it is the most efficient of the two main types of fuel. I assume that these vehicles will not be exempt from the proposed increases? If the prices also increase for them then it is fairly obvious that the costs to the general public will escalate to compensate the companies running these fleets.
I feel it is fairly safe to say that motorists use only a fraction of the total amount of diesel consumed so the savings. So the only ‘winners’ will be the government with all the extra tax money.
Barry Weston
