Cabinet to offer €600 million to stimulate used electric car purchases

The Cabinet is allocating 600 million euros for a subsidy scheme to ensure that more people can buy a second-hand electric car, sources close to the Cabinet said on Wednesday. Currently, electric cars are often exported abroad when they change hands because they are too expensive on the Dutch second-hand market, making them unattractive for many residents.

The measure is part of a package of 120 steps to achieve the climate goals for 2030. The sources confirmed similar stories reported first by RTL Nieuws and AD.

The government wants to achieve a carbon emissions reduction of 55 percent compared to 1990. Last month, officials wrote in an important advisory report that an additional reduction of 22 megatons of carbon dioxide is needed to achieve these targets. The draft climate plan is meant to achieve exactly that reduction.

Motorists whose vehicles operate on petrol will notice that the price per liter will rise on average by one cent. This is due to the agreement to increase the amount of biofuel mixed into petrol and diesel. In addition, the BPM purchase tax on new cars will be about 200 euros more expensive.

Previously, the plan was to force leasing companies to electrify their entire fleet from 2025, but that measure has been taken off the table. Instead, employers are obliged to limit the carbon dioxide emissions of travel related to business. This can be done in many ways, like encouraging employees to take the train.

The Cabinet is also going to spend 90 million euros to install more charging stations. Major polluters will also be taxed more heavily. Currently, taxes tend to decrease as companies use more energy. The government will put an end to that.

Another plan is to earmark 425 million euros to better insulate drafty residences in vulnerable neighborhoods. A 100 million euro subsidy must also ensure that more solar panels are installed on rental homes.

To encourage households to consume less energy, the energy tax will be reduced on the first 800 cubic meters of gas used, starting next year. The tax rate will then increase step by step as individual consumers use more gas.

Climate and Energy Minister Rob Jetten will present his plan to the Council of Ministers on Wednesday. Before the start of the meeting, he said the package is “just, ambitious and also workable,” without going into detail about its content.

This has been the subject of hard negotiations in the Cabinet together with the coalition parties, he said. After Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s press conference on Wednesday, the minister will provide further explanation to the press.