THE Government's VAT policy on commercial vehicles had been described as confused and damaging to sales by Ford's commercial vehicles manager, Mike Platts. Two thirds of Ford's model range, the super cab and the double cab, is liable for VAT because the addition of extra seats and windows means that it is not classed as purely a commercial vehicle.

Ford added super cab and double cab models to the planned Ranger line-up for the UK in anticipation of the rules being changed to fall in line with the rest of Europe, removing VAT from the entire range, but it will have to wait until later in the year to see whether the gamble has paid off as the Government is only considering proposals at present.

Platts said the problem showed the benefits of harmonising tax rules with Europe. 'We are currently in discussions about the VAT situation because there is definitely a benefit in harmonising with Europe and it would help us all, both manufacturers and vehicle operators. We are 99% confident there will be changes and, if they are made, I think the predictions we have made for the double cab, currently around 15% of total sales, will increase.'