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Refueling undesirable: Politicians should tax combustion engines higher, believes car expert Dudenhöffer
Photo: Rolf Poss / imago images/Rolf Poss
Car expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer proposes an increase in VAT for petrol and diesel cars from 19 to 26 percent.
According to the director of the CAR Center Automotive Research, this additional tax would average a good 2,500 euros per petrol and diesel car.
It should take effect when the current purchase premium on electric cars is abolished - as planned by the traffic light coalition.
The increased tax would then indirectly make e-cars more attractive again and at least partially compensate for the loss of the premium - taking into account that combustion vehicles are becoming more expensive anyway due to CO2 taxes and e-cars are cheaper due to advances in batteries.
What could make the proposal politically attractive: The owners of the currently around 48 million cars in Germany would naturally remain unaffected, only buyers of new combustion engines would be charged.
The background to the proposal is the imminent end of purchase premiums on Stromer. The current boom in electric cars in Germany could come to an abrupt end if the coalition, as planned, makes changes to the premium at the turn of the year and lets it expire after 2025, warns Dudenhöffer. For car manufacturers and charging network operators, this results in an “increased investment risk”. The innovation premium of up to 9,000 euros per vehicle is currently a decisive incentive to buy, because in many segments electric vehicles are still considerably more expensive than comparable petrol or diesel cars: According to Dudenhöffer, the difference is often at least 8,000 euros.
Various mechanisms already exist in other countries to make combustion vehicles more expensive.
In Sweden, for example, since July 2018 buyers of new petrol and diesel cars have been paying an increased annual motor vehicle tax for the first three years after their first registration.
In Germany, on the other hand, vehicle tax for passenger cars is still very low compared to other European countries, according to an analysis by the Federal Environment Agency.
A one-time payment when buying a vehicle, a so-called malus, is not charged.
Such a measure is also not provided for in the coalition agreement of the new federal government.
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