Budget puts Seat Ibiza at the top of company car lists
Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget this week has put SEAT’s super-frugal line-up of Ibiza E Ecomotive models in pole position for fleet and business drivers looking to keep a lid on their company car tax and running costs.
Company car tax – referred to as benefit in kind (BIK) – is based on a percentage of the vehicle’s recommended retail price, the type of fuel it uses, the amount of CO2 it emits and the driver’s salary level.
Prior to the Chancellor’s speech petrol-engined cars emitting between 99 g/km and 120 g/km fell into the lowest BIK bracket for conventional-engined vehicles and were taxed at ten per cent. Low-emitting diesels like the Ibiza, meanwhile, were taxed at 13% because of the three per cent diesel surcharge.
However the Chancellor’s decision to tighten the lower limit for low-carbon vehicles from April 2013 reduces that bottom BIK threshold to 94 g/km or below.
Fortunately for latest generation Ibiza E Ecomotive drivers, or prospective purchasers, their cars will still qualify for the very lowest diesel BIK rate of 13% thanks to CO2 emissions of as little as 92 g/km.
Ally this to the fact that Ibiza E Ecomotives – available in sporty SC, practical 5dr and capacious ST estate bodystyles – are capable of more than 80 mpg on the official combined cycle and it’s plain to see why more and more fleet and business managers and drivers are opting for one of these stylish SEATs.
SEAT UK Head of Fleet & Business Sales, Nick Andrews, explained: ‘The Ibiza E Ecomotive range is proving increasingly attractive to a wide variety of our customers with, in particular, the ST version making great inroads thanks to its practicality and style.
‘The revisions to company car tax arrangements announced by the Chancellor this week will only serve to strengthen the Ibiza’s case with business customers who, understandably, are watching every penny at the moment.’
The third generation ‘green’ Ibiza, now badged E Ecomotive to reflect its super-frugal performance, achieves exceptional CO2 emissions of just 92g/km, and is capable of fuel consumption of 80.7 mpg (combined).
The impressive figures are, in part, the result of painstaking work carried out on the 1.2-litre common-rail TDI 75 PS engine which, as usual, boasts a diesel particulate filter (DPF) as standard. Other important additions to the latest generation Ecomotive include, for the first time on an Ibiza, the use of Start/Stop technology and Brake Energy Recovery.
Optimised aerodynamics, weight reduction and changes to the engine management have given rise to one of the cleanest cars on the market.
Available in 5dr, SC and ST bodystyles the cars are not only exempt from UK road tax (VED) but, as a result of changes announced at the start of this year, are also eligible for free entry to London’s revised Congestion Charge zone.
The Ibiza E Ecomotive models form part of a growing selection of SEAT Ecomotive and E Ecomotive cars that also takes in versions of the Leon, Altea, Altea XL and Alhambra. Prices start at £13,490 RRP for the Ibiza SC S A/C E Ecomotive.
