FORD HITS VITAL CO2 TARGETS

BRENTWOOD, Essex, 8 December, 2008 – Ford's latest C-MAX MPV delivers the lowest CO₂ emissions in its segment. Engineering developments to Ford C-MAX 1.6 TDCi models have resulted in emissions of just 119g/km of CO₂.

 

As a result vehicle excise duty (VED) for these models reduces immediately from £120 to £35. There will be a further reduction to £30 from April 2009, when new VED bands come into force. The official European Drive Cycle combined fuel consumption figure for these models is improved to 62.8mpg*.

 

C-MAX is one of over 50 Ford models emitting under 120g CO₂/km. A total of 51 different Ford C-MAX, Focus, Fiesta, Fusion and new Ka models provide the tax, fuel economy and environmental benefits attached to sub-120g motoring.

 

After April, Fiesta 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre TDCi models will pay only £20 VED since they will fall in to the new 101g CO₂/km to 110g CO₂/km bracket. Fiesta ECOnetic models already qualify for zero VED because they emit just 98g CO₂/km. Fiesta ECOnetic has an official European Drive Cycle combined figure of 76.3mpg*.

 

In the larger car segments Ford offers the most comprehensive UK line-up of sub-160g CO₂/km cars of any manufacturer. This is particularly important for fleet buyers who can take full advantage of the changes to capital allowances which will be introduced in April next year.

 

Ford’s sub-160g line-up includes a comprehensive range of Fiesta, Focus, C-MAX, Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy models.

 

The latest addition to the sub-160 range is a new Ford Kuga with front-wheel drive which emits just 159g/km of CO₂ from its 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi engine. This new addition shares the same standard equipment and option line-up as the all-wheel drive Kuga.

 

From April 2009, fleets will be able to write down the asset value of cars purchased outright which emit 160g/km of CO₂ or less by 20 per cent a year, while cars emitting 161g/km or more will have to be written down at 10 per cent a year. Fleets with Fiesta TDCi models will benefit from the 100 per cent write down that applies to cars emitting under 110g/km of CO₂ – meaning considerably less corporation tax to be paid.

 

Additionally, after April any leased cars emitting 160g/km or less will qualify for 100 per cent of their finance payments to be offset against corporation tax, with no disallowances applied.

 

Reducing CO₂ output also increases fuel economy: the recent development of the 2.0-litre TDCi engines in S-MAX and Galaxy to reduce emissions below the sub-160 threshold also improved the official European Drive Cycle combined figure to 47.1 mpg*.