Germany
The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety has announced that “environmentally friendly vehicles†are to be exempted from German motor vehicle taxes. Currently, Germany taxes vehicles based on the size of the engine. For example, the tax on a two-liter diesel is the Euro-equivalent of about $400 per year. Under the new system, which may go into effect as early as January 1, 2009, vehicle taxes will be based on CO2 production instead. All newly registered cars meeting the Euro 4 emission standard will be exempt from the motor vehicle tax for one year. New models meeting the tighter Euro 5 standard will be exempt for two years. How vehicles will be treated that meet the future Euro 6 standard has not yet been announced. But according to NGVA Europe’s General Manager, Manuel Lage, “NGVs will easily meet this target, so it will be interesting to see how the Germans will treat NGVs in the future.â€
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