Drivers of cars with high consumption will have to dig deeper into their pockets in the future
Photo: Alexander R¸sche / picture-alliance / dpa
The Bundestag decided on a reform of the vehicle tax on Thursday evening.
From 2021 the vehicle tax will increase for new cars with high fuel consumption.
Cars that have already been registered are not affected.
Environmentalists and the Greens criticized that the reform was doing too little to protect the climate.
The reform also includes the extension of the vehicle tax exemption for purely electric vehicles until December 31, 2025; it should last until the end of 2030 at the latest.
Criticism came from environmentalists and the Greens.
Green parliamentary deputy Oliver Krischer told the German press agency: "With its poor reform, the federal government will hardly accelerate the switch to clean electric cars or more economical cars."
A study by the Ecological-Social Market Economy Forum on behalf of the Greens parliamentary group comes to the conclusion that the reform planned by the federal government is not ambitious enough to have such a steering effect - namely, to encourage customers to buy vehicles with lower emissions.
On average, the vehicle tax increases by 15.80 euros per year, with many cars nothing changes.
In a European comparison, Germany has low CO2-based vehicle taxes, but at the same time new cars in Germany emit the most CO2.
The transport expert of the Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND), Jens Hilgenberg, said that the reform is not much more than actionism.
"There are hardly any incentives to buy low-emission or even so-called locally emission-free vehicles instead of highly emitting bodies. Driving cars with high fuel consumption must, however, become significantly more expensive and unattractive if the federal government is serious about climate protection."
ADAC traffic president Gerhard Hillebrand also stated that the current reform could only be a first step.
"In the future, we have to systematically and completely align the vehicle tax with CO2 emissions in order to achieve an optimal steering effect."
Nevertheless, the present draft law is an acceptable compromise between more incentives for climate protection and affordable mobility.
In order to achieve climate targets, emissions have to be reduced, especially in traffic.
New registrations of e-cars are increasing due to higher government purchase subsidies, but they are still at a low level.
Icon: The mirror
pgo / dpa
