Cars to get colour code ahead of tax change

NEW vehicles will be given a labelled rating in terms of their carbon dioxide emissions from next month in a bid to make the consumer more aware of the environmental impact of exhaust gases.

The A to G rating will be based on the amount of CO2 produced in grammes per kilometre in mixed urban and rural driving and ranges from the low, Toyota Prius 104g/km, to the high, VW Touareg 5l, which produces 333g/km.

The system will apply to all new cars at the point of sale from July 1.