The proposal for a special levy on the purchase of cars with combustion engines has received rather positive comments from car manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen. Otherwise, many experts react with criticism and rejection. In the FAZ The mayor of Tübingen, Boris Palmer, proposed such a tax of 2,000 euros when registering a new combustion car. A few months ago, the Federal Environment Agency, which is dominated by the Greens, discussed such taxes, which would mean that a tax of 15,765 euros would be due for a Volkswagen Golf as early as 2030. “Tax and incentive models are also important during the ramp-up, especially in order to attract customers to low price segments “This is what the basic positions of the Volkswagen Group say. “Political measures such as tax and non-tax incentives can promote the ramp-up of electromobility,” replies Mercedes-Benz. The biggest obstacles are different. At the same time, however, many people in the auto industry point out that it is less the price differences between combustion engine and electric cars, but rather the Gaps in the charging infrastructure were the biggest obstacle to buying electric cars. Experts agree that anyone who cannot charge at home or at work is usually not interested in an electric car. However, this means that the market is limited to residents of one- or two-family homes with the opportunity to install their own wallboxes. Charging at public stations is inconvenient and also leads to higher operating costs than with a combustion car, this is also confirmed by the data from the consumer site Charging Station Check. At the industry-related Institute of the German Economy in Cologne, car expert Thomas Puls asks whether there is a German measure at all in Germany Production of electric cars could save: “Around 76 percent of German car production is exported, of which 40 percent are exported to other continents,” comments Puls. The Chinese market therefore decides more about the competitiveness of German car manufacturers than the German one. “Not expedient” in terms of environmental policy “The introduction of a bonus-malus regulation in vehicle tax, which would ultimately be equivalent to a registration tax, is neither expedient in terms of environmental policy nor does it contribute to it contributes to strengthening social acceptance of climate-neutral mobility. Rather, it threatens to burden consumers and slow down the ramp-up of e-mobility,” comments a spokeswoman for the German Automotive Industry Association (VDA). “The vehicle tax, on the other hand, is linked to the ownership of a vehicle and not to its actual use and is an unsuitable instrument for this reason.” The VDA is proposing an expansion of European emissions trading to the transport sector or an extension of the tax exemption for motor vehicles -Tax for purely electric cars, which currently only applies to cars that are registered until December 31, 2025. More on the topic Counterarguments are also derived from the effects on consumers: The proposed additional tax for combustion cars would particularly affect car users with low incomes , warns the VDA. “Ultimately, the penalty would put drivers at a tax disadvantage for whom buying an electric vehicle is not yet an option – for financial reasons or because there is not yet sufficient charging infrastructure.” Car expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer warns that this circumstance could in turn have political consequences: “As soon as a registration tax was introduced, populist politicians would come onto the scene and say: The government is betraying Germany and our great combustion engine. They will create fear that ordinary drivers will fear that their car could also be affected.” Without a tax on combustion engines, Dudenhöffer considers the reintroduction of an environmental bonus for electric cars by 2027 to be an important component in getting the electric car market back on track to bring drive.
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