Why Leasing is Better for the Environment

New car = new technology

The changes over the past decade have been staggering. Ten years ago, an electric car that had enough range to be properly viable was a pipe dream – today, they are everywhere on UK roads as all the major manufacturers have improved their range.

2019 is a year filled with some exciting cars reaching the market, with impressive offerings on the electric stage from Audi, Volvo and BMW to name but a few – no doubt, 2020 will be even better.

Even the traditionally-fuelled vehicles have impressive new CO2 emission ratings, as manufacturers work hard on meeting targets for legally lowered pollutions worldwide, and we welcome the improved fuel consumption, green driving targets, and whole host of environmentally-friendly features now available.

Surely, one of the advantages of leasing a car in 2019 is that you are doing your bit for the environment. Replacing an old vehicle with an environmentally-friendly model has to be an improvement, right?

The problem with new cars – is it greener to have a new or old car?

Experts do argue, quite fairly, that the damage to the environment caused by the very creation of these cars is staggering, and not quite enough to be offset by all of the eco-friendly driving that’s taking place.

By the numbers, driving a ten-year-old diesel for five years is still better on the environment than building brand-new electric or hybrid vehicles and then driving them for the same length of time.

For this reason, many will argue that you should keep your old car.

But by keeping your old car, the technology stagnates. If everyone did it, there’d be no advancements, no new cars and when the bits fall off the old ones (bits that need replacing with their own environmentally-damaging parts), there’ll be nothing there to replace them.

The reality is, it’s going to take some time to filter down the line, and improvements must continue to be made not only in the day-to-day emissions and fuel economy of the new cars, but in the process of making them. Maybe today the numbers tilt slightly in favour of keeping an older car on the road, but in five years that won’t be the case, and in ten? Well, who knows what sort of vehicles we’ll be driving!

By getting a brand-new car with better CO2 emissions or taking out an electric car lease today, you are pushing for a cleaner tomorrow.

Green leasing with Complete Leasing

Going green is on everyone’s mind – at Complete Leasing, we’re no different. We are pleased to have a range of cars that meet ever-strict standards for emissions, from traditional vehicles through to plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and fully-electric cars. Give us a call today to find out more about the benefits of leasing or fill in our contact form to get one of our specialists to contact you at a convenient time, obligation-free.