Cleaner now, EV later
—
Markus Söder, the Prime Minister of the German state of Bavaria, wants to stimulate the sale of petrol and diesel cars. That is less crazy than it seems at first sight.
–
More and more countries are introducing tax measures to stimulate the sale of electric cars and sometimes also plug-in hybrids, in an attempt to reduce national CO2 emissions. A proposal to introduce incentives for cars with an internal combustion engine seems somewhat curious against that background. Yet that is exactly what state leader Söder is arguing, Automobilwoche reports.
Söder’s proposal has an economic purpose in the first place. It is part of a whole package of proposed measures that should give the economy a boost after the boom called corona. This also includes lowering corporate taxes and energy taxes.
Selling more cars is also vital in Bavaria, because the state has a huge car industry. For example, the home ports of BMW and Audi, in Munich and Ingolstadt respectively, are in this state.
Yet the incentive construction must also have an environmental aspect. First of all, a new, modern car is in principle cleaner than the older car that is traded in, which is good news for both CO2 emissions and air quality in cities.
In addition, Söder is thinking of a subsidy construction where car buyers will not immediately receive a discount when purchasing one new car, but a kind of voucher. These ‘transformation checks’ should make it possible to exchange the new car to be purchased now for an EV in three to five years under favorable conditions. That gives the German car buyer some time to get used to the idea, while the charging infrastructure in those years naturally took just as fast steps forward as the electric car itself.
—
