2:59pm Friday 22nd January 2010
By Tim Saunders
YOU don’t have to pay road tax anymore. Ford has introduced its first generation of cars to emit hardly any carbon dioxide, resulting in zero road tax. This saves £120 a year when compared to a standard Fiesta.
By using a frugal 1.4 litre diesel engine its Fiesta ECOnetic range produces just 99 grams of CO2, making it the most environmentally friendly production Ford to be manufactured.
Mike Conley, general sales manager at Keith Motors, the Ford dealer in Christchurch, explained that the manufacturer has drawn on the vehicle’s aerodynamics to make it as efficient as possible.
“Different bumpers and body mouldings cut down resistance and it has ‘low rolling resistance tyres’,” he said of the vehicle, which retails for just under £15,000.
“In the last four months we have sold two dozen – we have orders for those all the time.
“I cannot keep up with demand, I have run out of ECOnetic brochures – another pack of 50 gone.” For those looking for a larger car, the Focus ECOnetic emits 135 grams of carbon dioxide and costs £35 a year in road tax.
It is not just manufacturing low emission cars that Ford is focussed on but how it can protect the environment during the production process.
The company is to install its third wind turbine at its 475-acre Dagenham plant later this year, after obtaining planning permission.
Ford’s existing turbines produce 6.7 million units (kilowatt hours) of clean electricity each year – avoiding over 6,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually since their installation in 2004.
The third turbine is expected to increase clean electricity by 70 per cent to 11.5 million units, equivalent to powering a further 1,400 homes.
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