Leo Brincat MP, St Julians
Hybrids should be less expensive
I think your correspondent Christian Peregin should be congratulated for the balanced and well-researched article on how hybrid cars are more expensive after the budget (November 21).
I hold no brief for the hybrids' importers. Whether the Association of Car Importers in Malta intends to challenge the government's measures or not is their prerogative. But although the hybrids issue is definitely not the be all and do all of a budget that might not be as "green" as we were originally led to believe, I think that as a hybrid owner - rather than as an MP - the record should be put straight about hybrids, in the hope that the government will rethink its policy on these types of cars which at one stage the minister even dismissed lightly as "pollutants"!
In the UK, the former mayor of London had exempted them from the Congestion Tax while in Rome they are even being used as licensed taxis for a cleaner air quality.
For a period the federal government in the US had offered tax credits of up to $3,400 for hybrids while certain American states and corporations continue to offer such fiscal incentives to their employees who opt for them.
The government has shown that it is so out of sync with modern technology that it seems to have ignored the fact that in 20 or 30 years' time all the automotive group cars of certain brands will be hybrids and all makers will have hybrids too.
Because of their eco-friendliness several car manufacturers are desperately scrambling to catch up with certain known companies, by having already entered into licensing agreements that allow them to use certain makers' hybrid technology not to lag behind any further.
Environmentalists in the US and beyond have been long calling for more attractive tax incentives for citizens to buy more of these cars.
No matter what the minister claimed in Parliament these cars virtually use half the energy of a standard car. Nobody is claiming that hybrids do not pollute - it is just that they pollute less than conventional petrol/diesel-powered cars.
If the government seems - from what has been declared in the House - prepared to tweak certain measures hitting hard second-hand car importers, it should go back to the drawing board on the hybrids' issue.
It is already a leap of faith to actually get down to opting for such a type of car, but with its budgetary measures this government is turning it into a leap into the dark.
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Joseph Sammut
Nov 26th 2008, 11:11
@Jean-Pierre Aquilina:
You are right that there are cars on the market whose pollution is on a par or less than hybrid cars, although you can count these on one hand (with fingers to spare) and I am not sure if they are petrol - probably diesel. Renault's Clio with the 1.5 dci, 85bhp diesel has a 118g/km reading, which is fantactic: I actually wanted to buy this model only to be told that only the 69bhp version would be imported (123g/km reading).
The car industry is passing through exiting (also troubled) times and the buying public can be assured of new ideas and concepts being offered to it.
Russell Lethbridge
Nov 26th 2008, 09:27
@ Jean-Pierre Aquilina
I completely agree with your comment apart from the fact that the figures you quote (the co2 g/km figures) refer to the combined cycle which I don't think is representative of actual Maltese driving. The combined cycle includes highway driving at speed, more representative would be the urban cycle figures (you will find that some hybrids actually perform better on the urban cycle). Finally some consideration should be made of the fact that hybrid engines are off during times when conventional engines are idle in traffic jams, waiting at lights etc.
Jean-Pierre Aquilina
Nov 26th 2008, 08:18
Some petrol cars pollute less than hybrids. A version of the new VW Golf for example is expected to emit just 99g/km of CO2, less than hybrids. There are other cars that pollute less than hybrids - just browse the What Car? or AutoExpress web sites.
The point is not whether a car is a hybrid or not - but the levels of pollution.
So "Cars which pollute less should be less expensive". would be more appropriate.
Joseph Sammut
Nov 25th 2008, 10:35
My Honda Civic Hybrid 2008 automatic model gets between 42.5mpg and 44.0mpg commuting to work with a factory claimed 109g/100kms carbon emission.
It automatically switches off and restarts the engine while stopped at the traffic lights and/or in traffic jams.
I understand BMW also offers this feature as an extra: clever!
Russell Lethbridge
Nov 25th 2008, 09:52
Three points:
(1) I doubt the combined cycle grams CO2/km figures are appropriate for Malta. Using the urban only figures would be more fair. This would tend to favour hybrids vs conventional engines, lowering the tax due for hybrids.
(2) No allowance is made for the considerable time that cars spend stationary at lights, in traffic or even waiting at the ferry terminal during this time hybrid emissions are nil. This should be recognised as idling engines are a great source of unnecessary pollution.
(3) Hybrid technology costs the consumer more than a comparable conventional engined car, yet everyone not just the owner gets a benefit from lower pollution. It would seem fair that everyone should share some of this extra cost via a tax break.