Nine-month wait for green models

If you want to buy an environmentally friendly new car, be prepared to wait for it! Huge demand for clean, green models means makers can’t build them quick enough, with customers facing up to nine-month delays for the likes of VW’s Polo Bluemotion.

Desirable luxury and performance cars used to have the longest waiting lists – but as our table (right) shows, soaring fuel prices mean eco models are now harder to get hold of.

One VW dealer told us it had no Polo Bluemotions in stock and that we would be lucky to see a car within 36 weeks of placing an order. But a VW spokeswoman claimed: “The national average is closer to 27 weeks, and there are 124 in stock in the UK for immediate delivery.” A Honda garage said that while base ES-spec Civic IMA models were readily available, there was a 20-week delay for the in-demand EX.

The shortage of cars is also forcing dealers to resort to desperate measures to sell vehicles that are in stock. When we called garages posing as a punter, a number promoted other cars, with some claiming those they had on their forecourts were nearly as clean as eco-branded variants.

One Skoda dealer told us the stan-dard Fabia 1.4-litre TDI – which was in stock – would be a better choice as a city car than the new Green-Line model, as it didn’t have a power-reducing diesel particulate filter.

But it’s not all bad news. Toyota offers one of the quickest routes to going green, as its Prius hybrid can’t be specified with options. Delivery takes around three weeks at present.