UK government says "freeze"!

© auto-gas.netAfter the newly introduced changes take effect, more cars in the streets of British cities should be powered with LPG

This is not the end of good news, though – not only will the rates be frozen, but also they will be reviewed in terms of whether or not they're appropriate. If not, they could actually be lowered. But that's still not all. 220 million pounds will be provided to support the new Clean Air Fund, under which local authorities will be able to financially support businesses and individuals adapting to new regulations regarding air quality improvement. In other words, if old diesels are banned in favour of LPG-powered cars, subsidies will be paid out to help people replace their polluting cars with cleaner ones.

How does the government plan to find the money to carry out the above plan? A Vehicle Excise Duty (VED, commonly known as the car tax) supplement will be introduced and will apply to all new oil burners registered from April 1, 2018 onwards. Furthermore, the existing Company Car Tax diesel supplement will be raised from 3% to 4%, starting from April 6, 2018. Seems like there are dark times coming for diesel cars in the UK. And you know what? We're not even sorry.

We welcome the Government’s review into the fuel duty treatment of alternative fuels and the announcement of a freeze of the fuel duty escalator for LPG.

Gerry Keaney, chief executive of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA)

A freeze in fuel duty is a welcome decision. Fuel duty increases would have been the wrong tool to use to address air quality.

Christopher Snelling, head of national policy at the Freight Transport Association (FTA)