A new survey from National Irish Bank reveals that 42 per cent of Irish consumers who plan to buy a car in 2008 will wait until the new Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) and motor tax regulations announced in the recent Budget take effect in July.

The survey, conducted by iReach, also shows that consumers are getting ready to embrace the move towards energy-efficiency, such as diesel-engined vehicles, with 72 per cent stating that, following the introduction of the new regulations, they are likely to, or will definitely consider buying a diesel-powered car rather than a petrol-powered car, thereby decreasing their CO2 emissions.

The key findings include:

When asked which type of car consumers would ideally like to purchase, the survey shows that hybrid cars, such as bio-diesels, electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars, are of specific interest as a green alternative to petrol. However the perception remains that these cars are not yet cost-effective to buy.

The National Irish Bank survey also demonstrated that engine size will remain a factor, with 82 per cent stating that the largest engine size they would consider buying would be between 1,000cc and 1,900cc, further indicating that that the new car tax regulations may influence consumers to purchase cars with smaller engines.

Although the majority of respondents (67%) were keenly aware of the new VRT assessment procedures, almost three-quarters of the total sample did not know what rate of tax they would be paying with the new regulations in place and 59 per cent did not know where to access information on engine emissions in order to make an informed choice, suggesting a general lack of awareness surrounding the practical steps which can be taken to reduce environmental impact.

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