(Wed 20 Feb 08)

Porsche Cars Great Britain is objecting so strongly to the proposed new London congestion charge that it is prepared to fight against it in court.

The issue is that cars whose CO2 emissions put them in VED Band G (those with emissions of 226g/km or higher) will have their congestion charges increased from their current level - £8 per day, or 80p for owners who live within the charging zone - to a flat £25. That's a rise of up to 3025%.

Porsche Cars GB will be writing to the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, this week. If he fails to respond to the letter within 14 days, or refuses to reconsider his plans, Porsche will submit an application for judicial review to the Royal Courts of Justice.

"A massive congestion charge increase is quite simply unjust," says Porsche Cars GB Managing Director Andy Goss. "Thousands of car owners driving a huge range of cars will be hit by a disproportionate tax which is clear will have a very limited effect on CO2 emissions.

"Not only is this rise completely unfair to many drivers, but it will also damage London based-businesses of all sizes, and successful people from across the world will start to think twice about basing themselves here if they think they are going to be used as cash cows for City Hall.

"The proposed increase will be bad for London as a whole and will send out the signal that it is not serious about establishing itself as the best place in the world to do business."

An additional point, which is not being emphasised very strongly here, is that VED Band G is home territory for most Porsche owners. Of all the cars the company sells in the UK, only two - the 2.7-litre manual transmission versions of the Boxster and Cayman - fall below the Band G threshold.

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