In contrast to Germany, the promotion of electromobility in Austria will continue in the new year. The aim is to bring more electric cars onto the roads between Lake Neusiedl and Lake Constance. A total of 114.5 million euros is available for this purpose, private individuals continue to receive up to 5,000 euros for the purchase of a fully electric car, and up to 2,300 euros for e-motorcycles.
Private charging infrastructure, such as wall boxes and charging cables, will also continue to be subsidized with up to 600 euros, and shared facilities in apartment buildings with up to 1,800 euros. A further ten million euros will be invested in expanding the fast charging network in currently underserved areas.
Up to 25,000 charging points
Speaking of charging infrastructure: The ÖAMTC mobility club assumes that the number of charging points will increase significantly this year – by around a quarter to a good 25,000. “That will then be significantly more than 900 megawatts of power,” said the ÖAMTC.
One-day vignette only digital
There are also innovations in the vignettes. The new one-day vignette is only available digitally and is primarily of interest to holidaymakers. It is intended primarily to keep tourist flows on the highways and thus relieve traffic-plagued communities. Like all vignettes, it has been available since December 1st and costs 8.60 euros for cars.
“Take the vignette with you”
Another novelty is that the digital vignette can be “taken with you” in the event of a license plate change: the digital vignette can be re-registered once per calendar year without giving reasons, as long as the registration holder remains the same. This is particularly helpful when changing vehicles and being assigned a new board. The re-registration costs 18 euros.
Higher insurance tax
There are new limits and thus a tax increase for calculating the engine-related insurance tax for cars; it has been 34.56 euros higher since the turn of the year.
There are also stricter restrictions on benefits in kind for the private use of company vehicles: taxes have to be paid here, which are higher if greenhouse gas emissions exceed a certain limit. This year this is 129 grams of CO2 per kilometer for vehicles registered for the first time.
Image: VOLKER WEIHBOLD
Extreme speeders are threatened with car loss and auction from March
Extreme speeders might lose their cars in the new year. A corresponding amendment to the Road Traffic Act (StVO) will come into force in March. This means that vehicles that speed recklessly and dangerously (more than 80 km/h in urban areas and more than 90 km/h outside of urban areas) can be removed and auctioned off.
Lifelong driving ban: If the car does not belong to the speeder, a lifelong driving ban for the driver will be entered in the relevant vehicle documents. In such cases, the vehicle can be confiscated, but cannot be declared forfeit and auctioned off. This also applies to leasing or rental cars, the ÖAMTC informed.
70 percent: 70 percent of the proceeds from the auction go to the traffic safety fund, the rest to the respective local authority.
445 cases: The Ministry of Transport expects up to 445 cases per year in which the vehicle might be confiscated by the authorities and subsequently forfeited. With this measure, Austria is following the example of other European countries.
