Germany faces energy tax losses as EV sales rise

"People are moving away from gasoline and diesel," Jens Boysen-Hogrefe, a tax and transportation expert at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), told DW bluntly. "The boom in electric cars triggered by high fuel prices is accelerating the transition in drive technologies that was already planned anyway."

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), sales of electric vehicles in Europe rose by nearly 30% in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same period last year.

Norway is leading the way , with electric cars accounting for as many as 95% of all newly registered cars in the country.

The agency's "Global EV Outlook 2026" reveals that EV growth rates in Asia-Pacific countries, excluding China, were even more remarkable, with sales in some regions rising by up to 80%. In Latin America, that figure was about 75%.

The boom in electric mobility has not been met with universal enthusiasm in the German government, as charging an electric car does not incur energy taxes, but only minimal electricity taxes.

Currently, a liter of diesel in Germany is taxed at 47.04 euro-cents (54 US cents per gallon), and a liter of gasoline at 65.45 euro-cents. On top of that, there is a carbon levy and a 19% value-added tax.

本文の著作権はDeutsche Welleにあります。