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Vauxhall's ecoFLEX initiative
(05/06/2007) |
It’s an all too common
sight on British roads – the so-called banger, emitting choking exhaust
fumes into the atmosphere. Everyone would like to get these older, more
polluting cars off the streets, but owners of these cars will often tell
you they just can’t afford anything better.
Now, as the first part
of a new, Europe-wide General Motors environmental initiative called
ecoFLEX, Vauxhall is introducing an incentive to help owners scrap their
bangers and swap into the most fuel-efficient and lowest-polluting new
Vauxhalls.
From now until the end
of August, Vauxhall will offer a £1,000 bonus for anyone trading in a
car which is then scrapped in exchange for the lowest emission versions
of the Corsa, Meriva, Astra and Zafira.
Vauxhall believes this
campaign could have a dramatic effect on emissions. According to the
Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) figures, over 15
million cars currently on UK roads are seven years old or more; nearly
nine million of these have passed their ninth birthday and over four
million cars are more than 12 years old.
Even if these vehicles
are well maintained, many will not have the latest emission control
equipment. Taking these cars off the road could have a significant
effect on emissions of harmful pollutants, including the ‘greenhouse
gas’, carbon dioxide.
For example, a 1995 Vauxhall Astra
1.7D was capable of an average 44.2mpg, whereas the 1.3 CDTi unit in
the current Astra returns 58.9mpg. Every litre of petrol spared
saves 2.4kg of CO2 and every litre of diesel saves 2.6kg,
so a British driver covering 12,000 miles a year in the new Astra
would save around £300 in fuel and a huge 800kg of CO2
annually.
And it’s not just CO2
levels which are reduced by driving a new Vauxhall. The latest catalyst
technology drastically reduces the most poisonous emissions from a car
exhaust. Taking just a thousand petrol vehicles built in the early 1990s
off British roads would prevent 11.5 tons of nitrogen oxide ( NOx
) and 41.5 tons of carbon monoxide (CO) being pumped into the atmosphere
each year, based on an annual mileage of 12,000.
“Modern, low-emission
vehicles can only help the environment when they also replace the old
cars which still blight Britain’s roads,” says Jonathan Browning,
Vauxhall’s Chairman and Vice-President GM Europe. “We know that there
are many drivers who would love to see their old car scrapped and
replaced by a modern safe, fuel efficient, reliable and ‘greener’
vehicle, but they think they can’t afford it. Vauxhall will now assist
them.
“The scrapping
incentive is only the first part of our ecoFLEX campaign. In
addition to the ecoFLEX scrapping incentives, customers can still take
their choice of Vauxhall’s existing customer offers.
The incentives are
available on the most fuel-efficient versions of Vauxhall’s best selling
small and family cars: the Corsa 1.0-litre petrol and 1.3 CDTi 75;
Meriva 1.4-litre petrol and 1.3CDTi; Astra 1.4-litre petrol and 1.3CDTi
and Zafira 1.6-litre petrol and 1.9CDTi 120PS.
Links
Lower CO2rsa offers Big Savings
Vauxhall Corsa
1.3 Cdti
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