Benefit in Kind changes from budget

Before last week’s budget there were rumours that the good old diesel engine was going to take some sort of a hit but, in fact, the only incentive to move away from diesel or petrol power was an announcement that electric vehicles would be rated at zero for benefit in kind purposes for business users. It’s still unclear as to whether that zero rate will apply to hybrids and/or plugin hybrids as well as battery-only electric vehicles. This means that business users who are currently paying thousands of euro per year in benefit in kind could now be benefit in kind free if they have an electric vehicle.

Mercedes X class

The new X class Mercedes-Benz pickup is due to arrive on these shores over the next month or so, with the new Mercedes-Benz 3.0 litre V6 turbo-diesel engine. It will be capable of towing 3.5t while carrying a payload of more than 1.1t. Mercedes-Benz believes mid-size pickups are becoming increasingly attractive for private use in addition to their reputation as commercial workhorses. Double cabs, that seat up to five have emerged as the dominant body style. Mercedes believes the new pickup will offer the same levels of comfort, safety, driving dynamics and design that customers have come to expect from its cars. If it lives up to the hype, it will be an interesting addition to the busy pickup market.

Car sales down 17% for September

Official statistics released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that new car registrations for September, were down 17% (3,916) when compared with September 2016 (4,707), while new cars registrations year to date remain down 10% (128,597) on the same period last year (143,211). The new commercial vehicle sector continues to see a decrease also, with light commercial vehicles (LCV) registrations down -9% (1,457) on September 2016 (1,609) and year to date are down -14% (22,488). New heavy commercial vehicles (HGV) have declined 30% for the month of September (149) compared with the same month last year (213) and are down 15% (2,252) for the year to date.