A new survey from National Irish Bank reveals that 42% 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.

Over a third of Irish motorists planning to buy a new car have done their sums and are waiting until the new VRT and road tax regulations take effect this 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% 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:

• 60% of respondents intend to buy a car in 2008, with almost 44% intending to buy a used car
• 42% of potential buyers will defer purchase until new regulations take effect in July
• 72% to consider diesel over petrol power
• Almost 80% have car engines between 1,000cc and 1,900cc
• 71% spend less than €20,000 in total on their purchase, with 57% getting a loan from a bank, credit union, motor dealer or building society.  27% use savings

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% 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% 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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