New Regulations for Motorists in 2021

The probably most important change is the re-regulation of the motor vehicle tax. This will be more strongly aligned to CO2 emissions in the future and will mean an increased tax rate for new registrations from January onwards if the carbon dioxide emission exceeds the limit of 95 grams per kilometer. The automobile club emphasizes that this does not apply to already registered vehicles.

The new rates are staggered in stages. If a vehicle emits between 96 and 115 grams of CO2, calculated according to the WLTP measurement, an additional two euros per gram will be added to the base amount for the engine displacement. Up to 135 g/km, 2.20 euros are calculated, up to 155 grams 2.50 euros. The upper limit is four euros for values above 195 grams per kilometer. No emissions tax is charged for vehicles that do not exceed the limit of 95 g/km.

Innovation premium to boost sales of E-cars

Anyone who purchases a pure electric vehicle by the end of 2025 will benefit from the vehicle tax exemption until then. This extends the period until the end of 2030. Through the climate protection program 2030 adopted by the federal government in October, the environmental bonuses that will also be granted until the end of 2025 are increased. Buyers or lessees of new passenger cars with electric drive (BEV) under a net list price of 40,000 euros receive a subsidy of a total of 9,000 euros, for plug-in hybrids there is 6,750 euros. For list prices up to 65,000 euros gross, there is 7,500 euros for BEVs and 5,625 euros for plug-in hybrids. Even used E-cars (5,000 euros) and PHEVs (3,750 euros) are subsidized by the state, provided that no environmental bonus was paid in a previous purchase. The vehicles must be a maximum of twelve months old and have no more than 15,000 kilometers on the odometer.

To comply with emission control, vehicle manufacturers are obligated to report the emission output in real driving conditions of individual passenger cars and light commercial vehicles to the EU Commission from the new year onwards. For this purpose, an "On-Board Fuel Consumption Meter" (OBFCM) installed in the vehicle is used, which records fuel and electricity consumption, mileage, and speed, and has already been included in vehicle registrations since this year. According to AvD, concrete details on where to direct specific data collections are not yet available. The requirements to be fulfilled are integrated into the Euro-6d standard, which is effective from January 1, 2021, and replaces the Euro-6d-Temp standard. Models with the expired standard may only be marketed until December 31, 2021, with an exceptional approval.

New commuter allowance

Commuters can look forward to a higher allowance of 35 cents from the 21st kilometer. Low-income earners below the tax threshold are entitled to the mobility premium from the 21st kilometer onwards.

With the new year, a responsibility also changes at the state level. From January, the federal government will be responsible for the construction and operation of the federal highways, instead of the states. For this purpose, the federally owned Autobahn GmbH was established. The newly established Federal Highway Office (FBA) will be the supervisory and approval authority for federal highways and roads from this point on.

New StVo still unresolved

The new road traffic regulations (StVo), which were passed in April 2020, are still unresolved. Formal errors and criticism of the tightened penalties for speeding violations are delaying the measures. The Automobilclub von Deutschland is urging a quick decision.