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“Over the years luxury brands pioneered new safety
technologies such as airbags, ABS brakes, and Electronic Stability Control.
Today, mass market brands and their customers reap the rewards,” said Guenther
Seemann, Managing Director of BMW Group Australia.
“Likewise, luxury brands are today at the forefront of
engineering cleaner cars which emit less CO2 emissions.
“For example, the BMW 530i emits nearly 20 per cent less CO2
than an equivalently sized and powered Holden Calais V.
“The logic of higher tax rates for cars with lower CO2
emissions is flawed.
“Increasing the tax burden on Australians who help fund
innovation in cleaner and safer cars highlights a lack of appreciation for the
role technology innovation plays in the market.
“A tax system based on CO2 emissions would align better with
the Government’s position on the environment.
“The tax hike on cars will increase the price of cars adding
to the country’s inflation burden.
“The price of cars has been falling in Australia since the
market was opened up and tariffs slowly reduced.
“This tax hike signals a return to price increases,” he said.
BMW, current holder of the World Green Car of the Year award,
reduced its emissions last year faster than any other manufacturer, according to
an independent UK-based study.
And a US report “Automakers’ Corporate Carbon Burdens,” by
Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit environmental protection
organisation found that the BMW Group not only led the automotive industry in
both fuel economy of its vehicles and the reduction of carbon emissions, but
that the BMW Group was one of only two car makers in the study that reduced its
per-vehicle CO2 emission rates.
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