This is what driving will cost you if the new environmental proposals go through

Recently, Minister Jetten of Climate and Energy presented the report Sharp goals, Sharp choices of the Interdepartmental Policy Research (IBO). This indicates, among other things, that the intended reduction of CO2 emissions is at risk if the planned policy goes ahead. For example, according to the report, we will have to pay more for airline tickets and natural gas.

Do you want to keep up with car taxes and fuel prices?

Sign up for our free newsletter!

The switch to electric cars is threatening to stagnate

Of course, there is no escape for motorists either. For example, the electrification of the Dutch vehicle fleet is threatening to stagnate. Moreover, it is feared that the Dutch plan to ban the sale of combustion engine cars from 2030 is not tenable. The reason is that the rest of the EU will not convert until 2035 at the earliest. That is why the authors of the report think it is a good idea to oblige business drivers to drive a fully electric car from 2025. Although an exception is proposed for self-employed persons without employees. It is also proposed to double the bpm (CO2 tax) on cars with a combustion engine.

Different kilometer charge rates for petrol, diesel and electric

Of all the proposals, those for the kilometer charge to be introduced in 2030 in particular cause quite a bit of concern. Because instead of one tariff for all powertrains, the IBO report suggests three different tariffs: for petrol, diesel and fully electric. It is no surprise that the kilometer rate for electric cars is by far the lowest. After all, otherwise you will not get the Dutch car buyer into an EV or not quickly enough, that is the reasoning.

A petrol car costs four times as much as an EV

And what will you pay per kilometer? For fully electric cars, the report suggests 2.24 cents in an example. Doesn’t sound unreasonable. For a petrol car, on the other hand, the rate should be 9.06 cents per kilometer. That is more than four times as much. Driving diesel becomes completely unaffordable, unless you really drive very little. If it is up to the officials involved: 13.16 cents per kilometer. And that while a diesel car emits less CO2 than a comparable petrol model …

In practice, this means that in most cases you will pay much more for the future kilometer charge than for the current road tax. And don’t think that you will receive a higher mileage allowance from the boss than the current 21 cents. The committee proposes to lower it to 12 cents. Not a word is said about plug-in hybrids or LPG.

You will pay this per year in kilometer charge

But what does that mean in practice? Below are a few calculation examples of the annual costs in euros.

The only one who, according to the above calculation examples, is cheaper than now, is the diesel driver who drives a maximum of 8,000 kilometers per year. But do you know someone like that? Please note: these are all still proposals and nothing is certain. But if the government wants to achieve the climate goals, something will certainly have to be done. So we are not completely convinced.