Fiscal Policies on New Passenger Cars in Europe: Implications for the Competitiveness of Electric Cars

Abstract

The objective of this article is to review the fiscal policies applied to new passenger cars in 30 European countries. The fiscal policies considered include the value added tax, the vehicle registration tax, the purchase subsidy, the ownership tax, and the tax on fuels/electricity. The article illustrates their properties and their implementation in each country. In order to appreciate how the different national approaches translate into financial incentives/disincentives in relation to electric cars, each country’s fiscal policies were applied to the Tesla Model 3 and the Toyota Corolla. The resulting acquisition costs and fiscal burden were then calculated and compared with reference to the year 2023. The results indicate that in some countries the Tesla Model 3 is cost competitive already in the acquisition phase (up to EUR 8524 cheaper), while in others is much more expensive (up to EUR 6590). The difference in the fiscal burden between the two car models ranges from EUR 448 to EUR 16,022, depending on the country. These findings have strong implications for social welfare, state budgets sustainability, and the need for car fiscal policy adjustments in the European countries.