Little green friends that cut car tax to zero

For the first time in almost 100 years it will soon be possible for British motorists to drive a car without paying any road tax. A new generation of super efficient vehicles is promising carbon dioxide emissions of less than 100g/km, putting them into tax band A and making them the first new models to be exempt from duty since road tax was introduced in 1910.

Where manufacturers once competed to produce the fastest, most powerful, most luxurious motors, there is now a battlefront opening up between companies vying to make their cars the most miserly. And these low-emission cars, which can do more than 70mpg and travel in excess of 700 miles on a single tank, are not clever electric hybrids but instead use refined engine technology to squeeze the most out of conventional diesel. Volkswagen will be the first to launch a zero tax car.

The German company has just started taking orders for its diesel-engined Polo BlueMotion 1, which will arrive in UK showrooms from next month, and emits just 99g/km of CO2. Smart plans to follow suit with its Fortwo diesel, available in the UK from early next year and which, at 88g/km of CO2, will have the lowest emissions of any new car – 16g lower than a petrol-electric Toyota Prius, the current car of choice for those keen to show off their environmental credentials.

The arrival of the first tax-free cars coincides with the launch later this week of a £10m government campaign to encourage motorists to buy greener cars. Branded “Act on CO2 funded by the Department for Transport (DfT), the campaign will include the launch of a new website that will enable drivers to search for the cars with the lowest emissions according to their particular needs.