French taxation...

[Bowie69]

.... if you think it is bad over here: 

 

[Arjan]

Oh well....

[Snagger]

That was always on the cards.  It’ll get worse, too.  Between extremely high VAT on the purchase, extremely high road or registration taxes based on emissions, and gradually ratcheting fuel duty that will only go one way from now on, large engined ICE vehicles are going to be utterly uneconomical to run.  Why LR designed any models with such engine sin the last five years is incomprehensible- the writing has been on the wall for a decade that the future is electric, be it with batteries or hydrogen fuel cells.  Add a predicted recession (they come round every ten years or so), and the cessation of all the cheaper models, and what do they think they’ll be selling to a cash-strapped public?  None of this wasn’t obvious.  The mismanagement of the company is staggering, and they’ll be lucky to survive.

[Bowie69]

They'll be selling to China, perhaps that is all they care about.

[Snagger]

Perhaps, but putting all your eggs into one basket is seldom a prudent strategy.  Sales in China are reducing though, across the board - they’re suffering economically too.

[Nonimouse]

I was wondering if the change of engines is to improve particulates

[FridgeFreezer]

I assume JLR were already developing engines when the stuff hit the fan and can't afford to switch - and with electric they're going to have to rely on bought-in solutions to a greater or lesser extent, which I'm guessing are relatively scarce / in high demand and probably rather expensive given the (relatively) low volumes LR produce compared to others.

Toyota probably have more R&D budget for wing mirrors than JLR do for engine R&D.

[Tanuki]

I'm wondering if there's a way round this by taxing it as a 'camion' or "break" or 'fourgon' or "Commerciale" or "Derives V.P." or something?

Sure, it may require the rear seats being removed and the rear door/window-glass being rendered 85%-opaque - I remember in the 1970s/80s seeing big Citroen estate-cars with the side-glass panelled-out for tax-purposes.

[Daan]

On 9/30/2020 at 10:27 PM, Tanuki said:

I'm wondering if there's a way round this by taxing it as a 'camion' or "break" or 'fourgon' or "Commerciale" or "Derives V.P." or something?

Sure, it may require the rear seats being removed and the rear door/window-glass being rendered 85%-opaque - I remember in the 1970s/80s seeing big Citroen estate-cars with the side-glass panelled-out for tax-purposes.

Dutch prices:

cheapest 90: 95.150 euro, roadtax 2736 euro

cheapest 110: 102.325 euro, roadtax 2884 euro

The plug in hybrids are slightly better due to tax breaks.

There is also the problem of income tax increase when you have it as a companycar, which is eye-watering.

The commercial versions are about 50% of these prices, however you need to be a registered ltd company to be using the lower road tax bracket.