Drivers will have to pay hundreds of pounds more in car tax hike

MOTORISTS buying cars after April 1 face forking out hundreds of pounds more in car tax.

The more accurate emissions figures due to apply from that date will mean an average increase of 20-25 per cent in the recorded CO2 levels from the exhausts of new vehicles.

With the first instalment of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) linked to CO2 emissions it means a tax hike worth £200million a year to the Treasury. A two-litre hybrid Honda C-RV will see its emissions increase from 120g/km to 156g/km. It will also jump two tax bands, increasing the first VED payment by £360.

Similarly, the emissions for a 1.5-litre Ford Fiesta ‘EcoBoost’ will rise from 136g/km to 158g/km, meaning drivers will pay £320 more in car tax, according to the Vehicle Certification Agency.

The first car tax payment on a Land Rover Discovery Sport will leap by up to £960.

Meanwhile, people paying benefit-in-kind tax because they drive a company car will also fork out more. A 40 per cent taxpayer with a hybrid Honda C-RV would pay an estimated £600 a year more in tax.