Company cars with combustion engines: State subsidizes 13.7 billion euros a year
Subsidies for company cars that run on petrol or diesel slow down the mobility transition. That's the opinion of the organization Transport & Environment.
(Image: heise online / anw)
In 2023, the German government subsidized company cars that run on petrol or diesel to the tune of 13.7 billion euros. This was calculated by the consulting firm ERM for the transport umbrella organization Transport and Environment (T&E). According to this calculation, Germany is in second place among the five largest European countries, after Italy with 16 billion euros. France follows with 6.4 billion euros, followed by Poland with 6.1 billion euros. Spain comes in at 0.1 billion euros. In the largest European countries as a whole, company cars powered by fossil fuels would cost taxpayers 42 billion euros a year, T&E explains further.
The benefits for company cars in the form of benefits in kind, depreciation, tax advantages and fuel cards are significant because they account for 60 percent of all new registrations in Europe, T&E explains. The benefits are particularly noticeable for SUVs as company cars. Up to 8900 euros less tax would have to be paid annually for these than for privately owned SUVs. Of the 42 billion euros in annual subsidies across Europe, 15 billion euros go towards SUVs.
Brake on the mobility turnaround
Environmentally harmful company cars not only benefit from subsidies, they also slow down the mobility transition. While 13.8 percent of all newly registered private cars in the first half of this year were battery electric vehicles (BEV), the figure for commercial cars was 12.4 percent. In Germany, newly registered private BEVs accounted for 16.6 percent in the first half of the year, while commercial BEVs made up 11.7 percent of total new registrations.
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At the beginning of September this year, the German government decided to introduce tax incentives for electric cars used for business purposes. Companies will be able to claim the investment costs for newly registered, purely electric and emission-free vehicles against tax more quickly. A new special depreciation allowance will be introduced for this purpose. Purchases are to be written off against tax over a period of six years. The regulation applies for a limited period for purchases in the period from July 2024 to December 2028.
(anw)