A heavy vehicle tax means that car dealers must pay an additional charge when selling a heavy passenger car. This creates an incentive for manufacturers and sellers to bring lighter cars to the market.
Lower income groups are less likely to own a car than higher income groups. When they do own a car, it is generally smaller and older than those owned by higher income groups. This means that, upon introduction of the measure, it is mainly higher income groups who will be affected, as the additional costs will be passed on directly to consumers through higher purchase prices.
The measure is expected to result in a reduction of 0.4 kilotonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions by 2030.