DOT urged to set VED on 40 and 41-tonners
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• The Government is coming under pressure to make a quick decision on vehicle excise duty levels for the new class of 40 and 41-tonne trucks to enable hauliers to make informed investment decisions.
This week interested parties are meeting for the first time to discuss VED levels as part of the Government's full review into lorry taxes, announced in the last Budget and widely tipped to be included in the next one. But one industry source says the Government may have to disclose the VED for the new weights before the review, as 40 and 41 tonners will be allowed onto UK roads from next January.
Early predictions of new VED rates for 2+3 artics are between £5,000 and £7,500. A Department of Transport spokesman says setting VED is a Treasury matter, but adds that the DOT will have some input.
In March, Chancellor Gordon Brown promised a £500 VED discount for trucks with the cleanest emissions, but he has not given any further details.
• Owner-driver Nick Norman says that unless the VED differential between 2+3 and 3+3 combinations is significant there will be minimal returns for what is a considerable investment.
A tag axle would cost Norman £5,000. On top of that are the extra costs of tyres and maintenance, and an estimated 0.25mpg loss in fuel economy. Because of the weight of the extra axle, there will he no payload benefit.
Norman says the calculations are very tight over the three to five-year life span of his lorry. "I would have settled on 3+3 if Prescott had gone for 42 or 44 tonnes." he says, "but this 41-tonne limit is not quite right. Why didn't he listen to the industry rather than the Women's Institute?"