Alliance around SoVD: Affordable Germany ticket for all instead of luxury company cars for the few
Instead of continuing to promote combustion engines as well as particularly expensive and heavy electric cars as company vehicles, a broad coalition of associations around the Social Association Germany (SoVD) is calling on the federal government to orient the 2025 budget and the growth initiative towards social justice and climate protection. On Wednesday, the federal cabinet intends to address the 2025 budget and the growth initiative, which includes a provision for increased promotion of company vehicles.
The plans for the 2025 budget aim to expand the tax advantages for company vehicles as part of the growth initiative. This would lead to the federal government losing hundreds of millions of euros in tax revenue. The money primarily benefits high earners. No additional funds are planned for the Germany Ticket, which everyone can benefit from, criticize the associations.
Although the planned expansion applies only to electric vehicles, the billion-euro tax advantages for combustion engine cars remain in place. This simultaneously rewards a German automotive industry that has long delayed the transition to alternative drives for the broader society. According to the associations, there are significantly better and fairer solutions to promote affordable and climate-friendly electric models for the wider society while also creating budgetary leeway to ensure price stability for the Germany Ticket and to expand public transport.
"We need to include everyone in the transformation of mobility. However, many cannot afford the 49 euros for the Germany Ticket today, let alone a higher contribution. Here, the federal and state governments must create a unified offer in the form of a social ticket. The fact that luxury company vehicles worth 95,000 euros are now also to be promoted tax-wise would be a transportation policy own goal. Because instead, Germany needs public transport both in cities and in rural areas that keeps even more people mobile through frequency, quality, safety, and accessibility, allowing them to forgo cars," explains Michaela Engelmeier, chairwoman of the SoVD,
Stefan Heimlich, Chairman of ACE Auto Club Europe: "While we welcome the expansion of charging points and the new depreciation modalities for companies, the traffic light coalition must also urgently adjust company car taxation and tax internal combustion engines and plug-in hybrids at 2 percent in the future."
"Finance Minister Lindner wants to save on the necessary railway expansion and the successful D-ticket, but top earners with luxury company cars are to be pampered with hundreds of tax millions? That would be traffic policy from the asphalt eighties - harmful to the climate and, on top of that, screamingly unfair," criticizes Martin Kaiser, Executive Director of Greenpeace Germany.
Christiane Averbeck, Executive Director of the Climate Alliance Germany: "The Germany ticket is one of the most important achievements of the current federal government. Price stability and long-term investments are necessary for its survival. Without further funding from the federal government for personnel, buses and trains, as well as the Germany ticket, people will still be dependent on cars far beyond 2030. Lower-income groups will then continue to rely on combustion engines and will be burdened by the rising CO2 price."
Michael Müller-Görnert, Transport Policy Spokesperson for the German Transport Club: "Instead of primarily promoting large and heavy luxury e-cars, there are much more effective and socially fairer ways to strengthen e-mobility. Higher flat-rate tax rates for company cars with internal combustion engines set an additional incentive in favor of e-cars, which can be cost-neutral within the system. At the same time, the remaining funds can be used to promote sustainable mobility."
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