I'm about to get a new Superb as a work car but have been warned that the BIK % may increase after April 2020 with the WLTP figures. When do the figures for this (and other Skoda) model for WLTP actually get published, have they been already?

The Swedish price list has included the WLTP CO2 data for a while (as of 1 Jan 2020 our road tax is based on these values). Maybe you don’t get them in the UK brochures yet?
 

 

Edited 31 January, 20206 yr by Malakim

Thanks, only seems to be the DSG quoted there (not sure if you can get manual gearboxes in Sweden). The wording in the UK is weird and is WLTP combined fuel consumption (not sure what that actually means) and it's NEDC "equivalent" Co2 !?

 

No, it seems we don’t get an manual gearboxes here anymore. All available engines get a 7-speed DSG, apart from the hybrid which gets a 6-speed DSG, according to the configurator. 

 

I believe the combined WLTP consumption value is calculated from the low / mid / high speed measurements WLTP is based on. I’m not sure how the NEDC value is derived from that, maybe there are some WLTP experts on here that can explain the maths behind it all? 🙂

1 minute ago, Malakim said:

No, it seems we don’t get an manual gearboxes here anymore. All available engines get a 7-speed DSG, apart from the hybrid which gets a 6-speed DSG, according to the configurator. 

 

I believe the combined WLTP consumption value is calculated from the low / mid / high speed measurements WLTP is based on. I’m not sure how the NEDC value is derived from that, maybe there are some WLTP experts on here that can explain the maths behind it all? 🙂

I believe the NEDC figure comes from adding the Urban figure to the Highway figure then dividing by 2. My Superb Urban 33mpg, Highway 47mpg NEDC figure 39.8mpg co2 161gm/km 7 speed DSG.

Availability of WLTP CO2 figures has been a challenge to get hold of, VW & Skoda have released figures though, certainly for the Superb. I have found the info both on Comcar https://comcar.co.uk/emissions/wltp-co2-figures/ and also going through the car configurator, the WLTP figures are in the engine details section. 

 

WLTP CO2s will be used for all cars registered on or after 6th April, the current figures are NEDCe (e for equivalent) and are back calculated from the WLTP CO2 figures obtained with the WLTP testing (there is a formula used for this, must be somewhere on the web!) and have been in use since September 2018 (think that was the date?), before that, CO2s were plain old NEDC, which is why there was a small bump in CO2s in Sept 2018 for some vehicles. 

 

The frustrating thing has been the lack of availability of WLTP CO2 values, manufacturers must have the info as all new cars will have been tested to WLTP standards from Sept 2018, but getting the data has been a different story. Ford specifically say on their website that they won't publish WLTP CO2 values until they are law from the 6th April.  Toyota also don't have any values available and the difficulty for a company car driver in particular, is if you have to get your car order in, depending on lead time, you could be in a position of having a car registration date after 6th April, but not knowing how much more tax you will pay. 

 

Sorry if this is a bit long, it's something I've been through this quite a bit over the last few months with my company as well making colleagues aware of these changes, plus my car is due a change after April. I've fortunately been able to order a Superb iV, due around end of April/early May (CO2 values actually go down for WLTP).  From 6th April, the BIK for new cars does generally rise quite a bit, particularly for diesel cars as you'll see in the Comcar link above, and for example, the iV will have a BIK of 10% , the 190 TDI will be 37%, so quite a difference to the tax payable. 

Cheers, that's really useful info. I had a look at the site and, for example below the 2.0 TDI 150PS has 103 NEDC and 132 WLTP. Does that effectively mean that from April, that engine is considered to be more polluting and will be in a different BIK band ?

 

In essence yes, the increase in emissions does mean its more polluting, but it is exactly the same engine, you or I will get the same economy when we drive it today, as we will after April 6th, it is the testing method that is different.  Compared to NEDC (which was carried out in a lab) WLTP is more representative of real world driving, which is why we have seen the official fuel economy figures drop, which then leads to higher CO2. Also, if you have a look at the CO2 for the 1.6tdi as an example, going from 110g/km to 142g/km as generally you'll work the engine harder getting up to speed. As all options are also tested with the car, wheel size/gearbox can have an impact, plus adding options that would affect weight or aerodynamics could also have an impact. 

 

What this means for the 2.0 TDI in the table you posted, after 6th April, the BIK emissions band will be set at 29% for three years if the car is registered before 5th April, as NEDC is used.  If the car is registered after the 6th April, the BIK will be based on the WLTP 132g/km and will then be 33% for 20/21; 34% for 21/22 & 35% for 22/23.  Fleet News have listed the tables side by side: https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/fleet-faq/what-are-the-current-bik-bands-/3/

 

It is making things more expensive for company car drivers and I think that there could have been more info/awareness made of these changes, as the impact is going to be painful. From experience in my company, those of us that are changing this year have caught up with this, my colleagues that are changing next year or year after weren't really aware to much of the changes or the BIK impact either. Also, I've found that some dealers aren't really up to speed on this either, although my local Skoda dealer was aware and provided info readily to help with the decision making. 

 

The thought process is to try and get car drivers into lower emission cars.....which sounds great in principle, but generally the PHEVs have higher P11D pricing and also higher leasing prices compared to the diesel equivalents which then limits what cars are available

Thanks for the links to Comcar. You will see the tax calculator now has a registration month dropdown at the end so you can see the tax impact , both CO2 and tax rates, of registering before or after 5th April 2020.