Austria is offering a bonus of €300 for cars with CO2 emissions of no more than 120 g/km, but cars with over 180g will pay €25 per gram over the 180 mark from July, and the same over 160g from January 2010.
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There are also bonuses for hybrids, and vehicles powered by natural gas, oxygen and LPG – and more controversially also for E85, a mix of 15% ethanol in petrol and diesel, which get a €500 bonus. Meanwhile Great Britain has announced that annual car tax will rise to €1150 for cars emitting more than 255 g/km (for the first year, €570 thereafter), while cars emitting 130g or less will pay no car tax for their first year on the road.
Europe must stand firm over its future targets for carmakers as it cannot afford to fall further behind China.
The decision to create a Europe-wide carbon price was right but creates significant political risk. The good news is it can still be fixed.
It's about time the EU requires parts of key products to be made locally – and nowhere is this more urgent than in the battery sector.