Powertrain 2020 - The Future Drives Electric (PDF ... - Roland Berger

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Study
1.2.3 Steering demand
In the attempt to steer customer purchasing behavior toward vehicles with
low CO 2 emissions, governments have started to implement tax regimes
that penalize CO 2 emissions. By the end of 2008, 15 European countries
had adopted such taxation systems.
In the past, many tax regimes were based on cylinder displacement. This
approach more or less penalized high fuel consumption. The new taxation
systems, by contrast, charge directly for CO 2 emissions. In several instances,
vehicles with emissions below 120 g/km are exempt from taxes altogether.
This creates a powerful incentive for customers to buy fuel-efficient
vehicles.
As well as reducing taxes, many countries are trying to promote the sales
of vehicles with low CO 2 emissions by giving buyers direct monetary incentives
or subsidies. This is the case in Denmark and France, for instance.
While these programs will probably be scaled down or abolished once EVs
gain significant market share, they are a viable way to help low-emission
vehicles get started.