The minister stressed that he should rely on market-based incentives.
(Photo: IMAGO/Chris Emil Janssen)
Transport Minister Volker Wissing no longer wants to hear about his ministry’s proposals, no wonder: spending up to 73 billion euros so that people in the country buy purely electric cars and scrap their old combustion engines is not part of the basic melody of the liberals.
“The purchase premium for electric cars costs a lot and brings little,” Christian Lindner stated back in 2016, when Black and Red were about to introduce the premium. At that time it was about 2000 euros and thus far lower grants than these days.
It is therefore not surprising that the Liberals once again stopped their transport minister on his erring within a day, this time even with reference to the coalition agreement: it says that the purchase premium is limited and ends in 2025. Now the premium should increase to 10,800 euros and then decrease until 2027?
There are reasons to extend the premium: delivery bottlenecks and shortages of raw materials mean that manufacturers are finding it difficult to meet demand. In addition, buyers only know what subsidy they will receive when the car is delivered – not at the time of ordering.
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A bad web error that the minister could correct, combined with a new end date, simply to ensure planning security in the crisis. Nobody would have criticized it.
Does the minister know what his house is doing?
As it was, however, the minister turned everyone against him and even claimed not to have submitted the proposal at all, referring to his “working level”. The fact is: the ministry has sent 54 measures to the climate protection ministry. It is the proposals with which Wissing’s house wants to achieve the climate goals.
It is hoped that he was knowledgeable on this important subject. In the Habeck Ministry, external experts examined each measure in terms of its benefits and costs. The purchase premium combined with a scrapping premium did not get a good rating.
Minister Wissing stresses that he should rely on market-based incentives. It would be easy: for example with the fleet limit values discussed at European level. This regulatory framework – synchronized with the climate targets – is something like a CO2 cap for every manufacturer.
It is just a year ago that the current Minister of Justice, Marco Buschmann, proposed something similar and aimed at emissions trading. This instrument would oblige car manufacturers to bring climate-friendly and later climate-neutral vehicles onto the market – without any tax money or technological specifications.
More: Volker Wissing’s climate plan: Train travel should replace short-haul flights