Car Organization Warns of Fuel Price Increases by 6 SEK

It is considerably more effective to reduce emissions by steering new car buyers toward fossil-free alternatives than by making it more expensive to drive older cars. This is the view of the National Association M Sweden, which is calling for a policy focused on new car sales rather than increased taxes and fees for existing car owners.

According to the organization, the majority of emissions from road traffic will, for a long time to come, be influenced by which cars are sold as new. Therefore, political measures should primarily aim to ensure that all new cars entering traffic are fossil-free, while the use of renewable fuels in the existing vehicle fleet continues to grow.

M Sweden points out that around 300,000 new cars are registered each year in Sweden and believes that this number is not expected to increase significantly. Attempting to scrap older cars at a faster rate is therefore not seen as a sustainable strategy, since many older vehicles still have considerable utility value.

The organization also refers to the government’s policy instrument investigation, which has noted that older cars will still be needed during the transition. The investigation has, among other things, pointed out that taxes on certain older diesel cars may need to be reviewed, since some of them have lower emissions than older petrol cars.

Six kronor per liter

“Within just a couple of years, motorists can expect overall price increases of at least 6 kronor per liter, in addition to factors such as crude oil price and currency. While that cost would include an increased blend that would somewhat reduce emissions, there is still a crucial point that we see as most important for accelerating the transition, and that is to ensure that basically all new cars can run on electricity, renewable fuels, or biogas,” says Carl-Erik Stjernvall, Head of Sustainability at the National Association M Sweden.

At the same time, M Sweden warns that an overly one-sided policy of raising costs for petrol and diesel cars risks affecting households that have not yet had the opportunity to switch to a fossil-free vehicle.

Focus on New Car Sales

The organization argues that the transition should be structured so that more people can choose a fossil-free new car when it is time to change cars, rather than financially burdening those who depend on an older vehicle.

“Since it cannot be assumed that the number of new cars could increase significantly from today’s approximately 300,000 new passenger cars annually, it is also not a sustainable strategy to believe that the segment of the vehicle fleet with a few years behind it should be scrapped at a faster rate. Older vehicles still have considerable utility value. Therefore, there are several reasons why the most obvious way forward to achieve emission reductions is for new cars sold not to require fossil fuels at all,” says Carl-Erik Stjernvall.