The UK Government's RPC rules cause anger within the haulage industry

Road Transport has reported on the anger generated in the haulage industry by the Government's decision to deny current Euro V compliant vehicles the reduced pollution certificate (RPC). The RPC allows for a £500 (€740) reduction in vehicle excise duty (VED) and is described in the 2007 Budget as "a renewed scheme of Reduced Pollution Certificates for lorries and buses that meet the Euro V standards before they become mandatory in 2009 [will come into force from October 2007]". However, it now appears that the RPC will only apply to Euro V vehicles that are equipped with OBD II systems with NOx sensors, to actively monitor and enforce the performance of the aftertreatment system.

Currently, the only technology available for Euro V compliance is SCR, reliant on AdBlue for successful NOx reduction. This reliance on AdBlue is the main source of contention, with the Government expressing concern over the possibility of operators running their SCR vehicles without AdBlue. OBD II systems will not feature in Euro V trucks until October 2007, and the retrofitting of vehicles with an OBD system is not possible. Manufacturers have expressed bewilderment at the Government's approach to early uptake with the RPC, commenting on the Government's lack of trust in the haulage industry.

At present, Government attempts to promote early uptake of clean vehicles seem counter-productive; without incentives why should hauliers pay a premium for the latest environmental technologies? The upshot of this decision is that operators who purchased the cleanest vehicles earliest will not be rewarded.