Consumption Statistics: Germany, a United Gas Guzzler Nation

Germany ranks among the top in Europe in terms of power and engine displacement in the vehicle fleet: The average car engine here has 112 kW and 1,717 cc. In the EU, only Luxembourg and the off-road nation of Sweden are ahead of Germany. Often, vehicles weigh over two tons, significantly impacting fuel consumption. Newly registered cars in the Netherlands consumed about a third less fuel, as Matthias Runkel, traffic policy advisor at the Forum for Ecological and Social Market Economy (FÖS), reported to Spiegel Online. With a similar starting position, the neighboring country's government made policy adjustments by the end of the 2000s and now occupies the lower end of the infamous consumption scale.

Key Factor: CO2 Registration Tax

According to the FÖS scientist, a key factor was mainly a CO2-based registration tax, which is levied in most EU countries, with Germany being one of the few exceptions. In the Netherlands, this regulation has been steering buyers in the right direction since 2008, with Portugal and Denmark being other success models, as well as France with a bonus-malus system, which auto-affine CSU transport ministers never agreed upon. The proportion of heavy premium vehicles has traditionally been very high among German manufacturers. Modifications to the vehicle tax have not been able to break this trend.

In contrast, fuel-intensive vehicles are hardly sellable in the Netherlands anymore, reports Runkel. In Germany, vehicles with an official consumption of over 10 liters per 100 km still form a strong group. This is relevant because, despite the recent electric boom, pure electric cars account for only 1.3 percent of the average over ten-year-old German vehicle fleet. Furthermore, the long-observed trend away from small cars towards SUVs and off-road vehicles continues.