Imported used cars 'incompatible with EU emission standards'

Almost 50 per cent of the cars entering the country today are old and incompatible with EU emission standards, the Association of Car Importers Malta (ACIM) said yesterday in the wake of car free day.

While the government has recognised the importance of the issue, much more remains to be done, the association said, appealing for the necessary safeguards to "make competition in the car market truly free and fair".

An environmentally-friendly new vehicle is taxed between Lm700 and Lm900 more than a second-hand car with full extras of the same class, engine and specifications, ACIM pointed out.

Imported second-hand cars have almost no environmental considerations, the association said, adding that they have no age limitation to protect the environment and are often up to six and even seven years old.

The association accepts that a used car should cost less than a new one - it is in its business interest for there to be a market for a car once its owner decides to replace it. However, "it is unacceptable that older cars, the ones that damage the environment most and the ones that would require costly scrapping, are the ones that are contributing least towards the cost of cleaner air and more effective waste management," Georg Sapiano said on behalf of ACIM.

According to the association, car registration tax is an environmental tax as it raises pricing and without it the flood gates of car usage would be opened in Malta, causing an environmental disaster, Dr Sapiano said.

However, "if registration tax is truly an environmental tax, how could the purchaser of a cleaner car be paying more," he asked.

The majority of second-hand cars on the road are being "dumped" from Japan, a country famed for its environmental efforts to contain urbanisation, he said.