A fifth of British car buyers will go green this year

It's one of two things. British drivers either have a conscience, or are cash-conscious.

The latest findings from British lenders show that we have shifted dramatically towards green cars in our buying practices. In the past year the proportion of us buying environmentally-friendly motors grew three fold – from 6 per cent to twenty per cent. Automakers, sensing a tipping point, are investing more money in small, diesel and hybrid models while increasing measures by governmnet – congestion charge waiving for clean cars and heftier taxes on gas guzzlers – means that the growth has a fiscal incentive to continue.

Twenty five per cent of British motorists are looking to upgrade their vehicle in 2007 reveals research from easier.com. A fifth of that number will switch to a green car.
It could be the environmental evangelising that's to blame. But cost savings appears, in the majority of cases, to be the main driver for switching. Most Brits, report automakers, look for 'cheap to run'.