- From the new year onwards, car importers will have to pay sanctions for even the most climate-damaging vehicles if they fail to meet the CO2 target values.
- These were previously exempt from the CO2 penalty tax due to an exemption.
- The decision of the Federal Council came earlier than expected by the car importers – they now fear high fines.
Cars with high CO2 emissions are likely to become more expensive in 2022 – the Federal Council lifted a corresponding transitional regulation on January 1. Cars from the brands Landrover, Jaguar, Suzuki and Subaru are affected twice – they have so far benefited from additional exceptions due to the low import volumes.
The budgets have been made, we have long delivery times. We have to pass the CO2 sanctions on to our customers.
Andreas Burgener, Director of Auto Schweiz, says that the sanctions will primarily affect the car dealers – they have to present a balanced CO2 budget for the cars they sell at the end of the year. Burgener goes on to say that the dealers would have to pass the fines on to the customers. A “phasing-in” was originally planned for 2022, so that the regulation would not apply to the five percent most harmful vehicles. «That is no longer applicable. The budgets have been made, we have long delivery times. We have to pass the CO2 sanctions on to our customers. “
Uncertainties in components for electric cars
Renault, for example, has no problem with the new specifications. A third of the fleet is already electric, so CO2-intensive vehicles are less important. There should be no sanctions for the French manufacturer – nor higher prices for customers.
The pandemic is robbing us of the ability to plan.
Nevertheless, there are currently some uncertainties – says the General Director of Renault Switzerland, Claudia Meyer: “The pandemic is taking away our ability to plan. We are driven by problems with semiconductors and microchips that are built into cars. ” That is the main problem, also when it comes to CO2, because you don’t know how many electric cars you will get delivered, says Claudia Meyer.
So a lot of CO2 makes up a higher price in the equation. In 2020, Swiss car importers had to pay a total of almost 150 million francs in CO2 sanctions – it should be more in 2022.