The 49-euro ticket should make affordable mobility possible from the beginning of 2023, and e-car owners can earn money with the GHG quota. On the other hand, subsidies for e-cars will be reduced next year and the next stage of the so-called CO₂ tax will be suspended. However, fuel prices are likely to remain high due to the energy crisis. The ADAC has compiled all the important changes for this overview.
Electric car purchase: Reduced environmental bonus
From January 1, 2023, the funding should only focus on vehicles that have a proven positive climate protection effect. Plug-in hybrid vehicles will then no longer receive an environmental bonus. The federal share for funding electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles will be reduced. For vehicles with a net list price of up to 40,000 euros from January it will only be 4500 euros instead of 6000 euros, and with a net list price between 40,000 and 65,000 euros it will only be 3000 euros instead of 5000 euros.
Electric vehicles with a purchase price of more than 65,000 euros will continue to receive no funding. Leasing vehicles with a contract period of less than twelve months are no longer subsidised. From September 1, 2023, the promotion of e-cars will be limited to private individuals.
The 49 euro ticket will come later
For organizational reasons, the start of the successor to the nine-euro ticket has been postponed and is currently scheduled for April 1, 2023. First key points: The 49-euro ticket should be available digitally and as a plastic card. It will be valid for one month at a time and will only be available as a monthly subscription.
Increase in CO₂ pricing suspended
The originally planned increase in petrol and diesel fuel from January 1, 2023 as part of the CO₂ tax has been postponed by one year. The price per ton of carbon dioxide emitted will therefore remain at 30 euros in 2023. From the beginning of 2024, a price of 35 euros will apply, which translates into a surcharge of around 1.5 cents per liter of petrol or diesel. Fuel is expected to remain expensive in 2023 due to the energy crisis.
Driver’s license exchange: Who’s turn in 2023
In 2023, those born between 1959 and 1964 will have their driving licenses exchanged. If you already have an EU check card driving license that was issued following January 19, 2013, you can save yourself a trip to the office.
GHG quota: Earn money with the e-car
Anyone who owns an electric car has been able to get a bonus of several hundred euros a year since 2022 when trading with the greenhouse gas reduction quota (GHG quota). This also applies in 2023. The owners of electric vehicles can, so to speak, “sell” the greenhouse gas they have saved to institutions and companies that use it profitably when trading CO2 certificates.
Legalizing Cannabis: New Regulations
In the future, it should be possible to purchase and possess cannabis under certain conditions. There is no fixed date for this yet. However, driving a vehicle under the influence of cannabis remains illegal. It is still unclear whether the currently applicable limit of 1.0 nanograms of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per milliliter of blood serum will be adjusted. (THC is one of the psychoactive cannabinoids)
Two masks in the first aid kit
New first aid kits must now also contain two medical masks. The formal step of adapting the road traffic licensing regulations is still pending. According to information from the Federal Ministry of Transport, first aid kits can already be used according to the new standard. Even old first aid kits (according to DIN 13164 January 1998 and January 2014) may continue to be used and do not have to be replaced. It is also not necessary to add two masks.
Train cancellations: When there is no more compensation
In the future, Deutsche Bahn will not have to pay any compensation for delays or cancellations if they might not have avoided the circumstances responsible for them. These include extreme weather conditions and severe natural disasters. Strikes by railway staff are not covered by this exception.
Automated driving on motorways up to 130 km/h
The maximum speed for motorway driving in automated mode has been increased from 60 to 130 km/h. Lane changes by automated systems are then also permitted. However, this is still a long way off: Even if the change comes into force on January 1, 2023, it will still be some time before manufacturers offer vehicles with such automation functions. So far there has only been one approved system, the traffic jam pilot in the Mercedes S-Class – currently with a top speed of 60 km/h.
Euro 6e as an intermediate step to the Euro 7 emissions standard
The EU Commission plans to update the Euro 6 emissions standard before the Euro 7 emissions standard comes into force. With the new “Euro 6e”, the agreement factors for RDE measurements (RDE, Real Driving Emissions) are to be reduced for newly type-approved passenger car models from September 1, 2023: for nitrogen oxides NOₓ from the previous 1.43 to 1.1 as well as for the Particle number PN from 1.5 to 1.34.
These requirements are to become mandatory for the first registration of new passenger cars from September 1, 2024. The change in the law is not final at the moment. For car buyers, however, this change will initially have no consequences.
Autotests: Stricter safety criteria
The crash test organization Euro NCAP tests and evaluates the active and passive safety of new vehicles. In 2023 the ratings will be tightened. With more demanding tests and greater consideration of predictive assistance systems, it is becoming more difficult to get the top five-star safety rating.
Switzerland: Digital vignette and enforcement of fines
The introduction of the e-vignette in Switzerland is planned for the course of 2023. It will not replace the previous adhesive vignette, but will complement it and costs 40 Swiss francs.
It should also be possible to enforce Swiss fines in Germany from 2023. An agreement is on the way, but there is no fixed date yet. (awm)
