Diesel owners have lost £35BILLION in car depreciation despite central heating and buses polluting cities more
DIESEL owners have lost £35BILLION off the value of their cars as the toxic fuel continues to come under attack.
Uncertainties over a diesel scrappage scheme and extra toxic taxes have caused used values for older diesels to plummet.
It's hitting low income motorists who can't afford a new, cleaner motor the hardest as seven million pre-2008 diesels are still on UK roads.
And the FairFuelUK campaign said an "obsession" with diesel cars means other sources of dangerous pollutants are being ignored.
Diesels are responsible for 11 per cent of dangerous NOx emissions in London - less than gas central heating (12 per cent) and buses (16 per cent).
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Rail (eight per cent) and petrol cars (seven per cent) also contribute to the smog in the capital.
And there's a huge level of particulate matter lying on roads that is repeatedly swirled around by traffic causing huge health problems.
Particulate emissions are four times worse in stationary hold-ups compared to free-flowing traffic.
FairFuelUK said policy decisions such as having over 200 diesel buses an hour running on Oxford Street, the granting of 175,000 extra private hire licences and widespread road narrowing has created the worst levels of stationary vehicle congestion London has ever seen.
It's estimated the poor air quality in London accounts for 10,000 deaths a year - and that rises to 40,000 across the UK.
What generates the most toxic NOx in London ?
- Gas central heating: 16%
- Diesel machinery: 14%
- HGVs: 12%
- Diesel cars: 11%
- Buses: 8% (16% in central London)
- Rail: 8%
- Ground-based aviation: 8%
- Petrol cars: 7%
- Diesel vans: 5%
- Others: 11%
(Source: London Assembly Environment Committee)
The FairFuelUK campaign said targeting diesels would have very little difference in reducing these numbers if other factors were ignored.
A survey of 11,000 drivers by the group found 94 per cent felt deceived by past government policy that promoted diesels and 75 per cent believe the government has no solution to lower emissions.
Howard Cox, founder of FairFuelUK, said: "37million UK drivers want DEFRA to review solutions to lowering emissions that don’t involve ineffectual and malevolent knee-jerk tax hikes.
"Will they have the guts to produce a long term sustainable plan or will this new government succumb to inaccurate emotive headlines and fleece hard working motorists and small businesses instead?"