The future: a car for Europe that's lower on emissions and a car for the rest of world that's higher on emissions.
In Europe, homologation of new car models is subject to compliance with the EURO 6 emissions regulations (street legal). EURO 7 will apply from 2025 onwards. And for car manufacturers it promises to be a more painful yank on the tightened thumb screws that time around. And as the volume of the party music will get another drop from 2025 onwards, late 2024 will be an interesting window of opportunity for car manufacturers to please oldskool car enthusiasts. BMW better speeds up the process in developing a G87 M2 CS or G87 M2 CSL.
But apart from EURO 6 emissions regulations (globally), over the past couple of years "eco taxes" have been trending in Europe (regionally): countries imposing additional taxes, calculated on the basis of a cocktail of parameters (engine displacement, power output, fuel type, EURO category, age and CO
2 emissions). And the only way is up: countries keep increasing those environmental taxes as the years pass by. Officially - alike taxes on cigarettes - as an incentive to discourage buying high emissions cars, but also in some way as a new source of income for the public authorities. Furthermore, fiscal rules gradually discourage companies to buy high emissions cars and increase personal taxes of company directors using high emissions company cars (or the other way around: fiscal rules favoring the purchase of electric cars).
Also trending in Europe (locally): cities imposing bans or restrictions for older, more polluting cars (ANPR cameras installed at the town borders check cars: a ban violation gets automatically fined). Purpose: less pollution or noise in town. We don't know how the situation will evolve, but possibly it's only a matter of time before modern high performance cars also may be banned or restricted (
i.e. admitted for city residents subject to a hefty annual "eco tax"): all it takes is just a city deciding to impose a tight CO
2 limit (or scheduling the ban or restriction to allow some time to adapt). The more cities copying those city bans, the less usability to drive your fancy high performance cars in cities, and the more those cars will drop in value. A bit like in Medieval Times in Europe: to access bigger towns surrounded by wall borders, you were required to pay a toll (excise) at the town gates (granting a right of passage to town and use its infrastructure and facilities). Looks like that's about to return: the more emissions, the higher the modern day 'excise' (granting some kind of right to 'polluting' in town).
And you know what ? It works: I know several people who decided to refrain from buying 'top dogs' anymore. Car manufacturers are aware of this and invest more in developing electric cars. Petrol cars are headed for extinction and not everyone buying high performance cars only uses those on race tracks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by msmatt
emissions may cause the use of higher displacement.
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If that's the case, let there be no doubt: rules
will be adapted, taxing the higher displacement harder. Car manufacturers may get away with smart moves only temporary, but won't manage to permanently outsmart the system - any such loophole will be closed in function of the purpose: lower emissions.
Same happened to the "fake hybrids" that popped up in recent years, those "e-Whatever" cars with a negligible electric range: initially hybrids benefited favorable fiscal rules, and so also cars like a LaFerrari, McLaren P1 or 918 Spyder were suddenly part of the 'hybrids' family. Well, closing the loophole didn't take that long: 'fake hybrids' are taxed again as much as a 'no-hybrids'. 'Real hybrids' still benefit, as was intended.
Same goes for big SUV cars that were initially registered as "lightweight trucks" to benefit from fiscal rules - also that loophole got closed.