…To Prevent Uncertainty Over Asset Values
Diesel cars have enjoyed a long period of high residual values but this appears to be coming to an end as the government toys with the idea of how to reduce levels of harmful pollutants.
This has led to calls for clarity in areas such as a potential scrappage scheme for older diesel cars and possible restrictions on where diesel cars are allowed to go in city centres.
The future of diesel is currently under threat not only from the rise of electric cars which enjoy considerable tax benefits but even petrol engine cars. The latter once demonised as the primary polluters of the atmosphere and for comparative inefficiency have evolved to become much more economical than in the past. Pollution from petrol cars has also been found to produce less of the particularly harmful substances found in diesel emissions.
All of this of course will affect the value of older diesel cars and possibly a knock-on effect on newer models. The emissions scandal that has recently rocked Volkswagen and continues to rumble on will have done little to inspire confidence.
Continued speculation over which cars a potential scrappage scheme will apply to and when to will also cause uncertainty in the used car market as people start to wonder how much their cars are actually worth.