Brussels Safety Rules 'Will Raise Car Prices by £3,000'
by Paul Marston

A new car could cost at least £3,000 more over the next four years because of the European Union safety and Environmental directives, manufacturers said today.

They accused Brussels of imposing 'contradictory' obligations on designers, which were likely to push up prices on best-selling models by 25 to 35 per cent. The European Commission is requiring companies to re-design car fronts so that pedestrians are less likely to be killed or seriously injured if they are knocked over. At the same time, it is insisting that new cars must produce 25 per cent less carbon dioxide emissions by 2008, compared with levels in 1995. The reduction achieved so far is about 10 per cent.

Manufacturers say the requirements pull in opposite directions, as safety innovations such as impact absorbing bonnets and more sophisticated braking and stability systems tend to add weight. This increases the need for a more powerful engine, which is likely to entail higher emissions rather than lower.

Solutions would involve much greater cost and this would have to be passed to consumers, senior industry figures said at the Motor Show in Birmingham.

A third EU regulation, covering the re-cycling of scrapped vehicles from 2007, will be a further financial burden, said the producers.

Roger Putnam, the chief executive of Ford UK, said the tensions between the different directives virtually required engineers to 'defy the laws of physics'. He predicted that the directives could add 5,000 euros (about £3,300) to showroom prices for a typical European car. The average price for the top10 sellers in Britain last year was about £10,500.

Kevin Wale, the chairman of Vauxhall Motors, said the industry was struggling against a 'tidal wave' of red tape from Brussels and Whitehall.

On a visit to the show, Patricia Hewitt, the Trade and Industry Secretary expressed sympathy for the manufacturers. "The cumulative effect of regulation from Europe is a concern," she said.
The Daily Telegraph 26th May, 2004.

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