‘With a replacement subsidy, lower incomes can also drive electric’

By introducing a so-called replacement subsidy, where people receive an amount for their old car that they can use to purchase a new one, lower incomes can also afford an electric car. ‘It is important for the support of the transition that the government thinks about lower-income groups,’ says researcher Hendrik Vrijburg.

The government is currently using various policy instruments to encourage electric driving. Vrijburg, a lecturer at Leiden University, mentions a much lower purchase tax (BPM), a reduced motor vehicle tax (MRB) and a subsidy scheme for purchases.

But according to him, all these measures have in common that the highest incomes in particular benefit from them. “These schemes are all fine in themselves, because electric cars are a new technology and must therefore be encouraged,” says Vrijburg. ‘But we think it is good for support for the transition that the government also thinks about policy for lower-income groups.’

Demolition scheme

That is why Vrijburg is proposing a replacement subsidy. “We already had a scrappage scheme a few years ago,” he says, “where people sell a car to the dealer for scrapping, and then receive a subsidy for the purchase of a replacement car.”

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A similar scheme could help people make the switch to an electric, or at least more economical, car more quickly. ‘That is what we are proposing with this scheme. It is a subsidy scheme to get old, inefficient cars off the road. It could also initially be used to purchase much more economical fossil cars or hybrid cars.’

Fossil fuels only become more expensive

Without such a new incentive from the government, some people will have to wait too long to switch to a (partially) electric car, the researcher thinks.

“Electric cars will become cheaper in the long term, and the second-hand market will get going,” says Vrijburg. ‘But it will take another five to ten years before it is affordable for people with a small wallet. In the meantime, fuel costs are rising and environmental zones are being created, meaning that some fossil cars can no longer be used in city centers.’

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