Salary sacrifice average emissions continue to fall

Average CO2 emissions for cars ordered under Zenith’s salary sacrifice car schemes have fallen to 112g/km in the past 12 months, which is 9g/km less than the average of 121g/km in the previous year.

Most drivers in Zenith’s salary sacrifice car schemes are now choosing cars with CO2 emissions well below 120g/km, the level that will from April, 2012, attract benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax at 15% for a petrol car or 18% for a diesel.

The percentage of drivers selecting cars with sub 100g/km emissions, which from April will attract the 10% BIK rate for a petrol car or 13% for a diesel, is also increasing.

And, figures reveal that 26% of new cars ordered under Zenith’s salary sacrifice car schemes now have sub 100g/km CO2 emissions.

The popularity of lower emission vehicles is expected to further increase following these upcoming tax changes. Drivers now have much more choice of high powered, low emissions cars, with manufacturers targeted by EU legislation to reduce average emissions.

Most of the sub 100g/km emission cars being selected (90%) are diesels models including the MINI
One D, Citroen DS3, Audi A1, Ford Fiesta ECOnetic, BMW 1 Series EfficientDynamics, Vauxhall Corsa ecoFlex, Fiat 500 Twinair and Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion, all of which have CO2 emissions of 99g/km or less. The remaining 10% are hybrid powered cars.

Tim Buchan, Zenith’s chief executive officer, said: “Salary sacrifice car drivers continue to maximise their savings by choosing cars with lower CO2 emissions and lower Benefit in Kind tax.

“Cars ordered through our salary sacrifice car schemes have always been significantly lower than the UK average for company cars. We expect this trend to continue, with drivers benefitting from a much wider choice, as manufacturers work hard to bring out more and more new models, with CO2 emissions within the lower tax band thresholds.”