31 March 2019

Manufacturers have caught the DVLA out by achieving upcoming RDE2 emissions standards sooner than the agency expected.

With Mercedes and Jaguar Land Rover both already selling cars that meet the new standard, compliant vehicles are expected to be significantly popular with company car users because they give diesel drivers a 4% benefit-in-kind tax discount.

Currently, there is no option to mark a car as meeting RDE2 standard in the DVLA’s automated system which then produces the V5C document. As a result, new car registrations for these cars can only be done manually – a process that takes significantly longer than the online system.

The delays could impact retailers looking to hit end-of-month registration targets and runs the risk of disappointing end customers.

A spokesman for the DVLA said the organisation was not aware of the issue, adding: “We would encourage any manufacturer who has new requirements about registering new types of vehicles to come and talk to us. We are not aware of any manufacturer currently submitting manual applications.”

However, sources at both Mercedes and Jaguar Land Rover have told Auto Retail Agenda they are having to manually register vehicles that meet the new RDE2 emissions standards.

It is understood the new car registration system will be able to handle RDE2 compliant cars from June.

Tags: DVLA, emissions, RDE2