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Sunday, January 23, 2011

The difference diesel makes

"Driving Towards A Low CO2 Singapore - Clean Diesel Power" saw major German car brands convene under the auspices of the Singapore-German Chamber Of Industry And Commerce to present the case for the promotion of diesel-powered passenger cars to government representatives.
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At the event were representatives from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen, as well as energy company Shell and automotive parts maker Bosch. Also present was executive director of the Singapore Environment Council, Howard Shaw.

According to the presentation, diesel passenger vehicles present in the German domestic market are on average 38 per cent more fuel efficient and emit 20 per cent less carbon dioxide (CO2) than their petrol counterparts - a figure that was echoed in our test drives this week as well.

Of course, one of the main barriers to the widespread adoption of diesel passenger cars here is the extremely high road tax for diesel cars, aimed at preventing non-commercial diesel cars from benefitting from subsidised diesel prices.

The solution is a suggested shift towards having a CO2-emissions based road tax system, which is apparently adopted by 16 out of the 27 European Union countries. Such a move would also help achieve the Government's aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 16 per cent below "business-as-usual" levels by 2020.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

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