© AFP
Motorists registering any new vehicles in Luxembourg after 1 March 2020 will have to follow a new procedure to calculate the CO2 tax.
Those planning to purchase a new vehicle at the annual start-of-year Autofestival will have every interest in informing themselves whether their vehicle would be registered before 1 March.
Whilst the general formula to calculate the CO2 tax on vehicles may remain the same, the amount could change for vehicles registered after 1 March 2020 due to a new procedure.
The current WLTP (worldwide harmonised light duty test) procedure will follow as a direct consequence of the dieselgate scandal. The procedure is very similar to the currently-used NEDC norm, which was created in the 1980s to determined emissions produced by cars.
As Minister for Mobility and Public Works François Bausch explained, NEDC continues to be used today but will be improved by the WLTP procedure. The new procedure will ensure accurate calculations on vehicles' fuel consumption.
Underestimated fuel consumption
WLTP tends to reflect on-road conditions in its laboratory calculation, consequently revealing higher levels of CO2 emissions than advertised in vehicle catalogues, the minister explained. The automobile industry was able to cheat with the older norms, leading to a divergence between the norms set out and the reality of CO2 emissions between 2000 and 2018.
This difference in Luxembourg is estimated at some €600 million, according to the ministry's statistics. Consequently, the new procedure could reveal CO2 emissions considered around 20 to 25% higher than under the NEDC procedure. As a result, taxes on vehicles will be higher for new car registrations after the cut-off date of 2020.
Bausch confirmed that the ministry will launch a campaign in collaboration with car garages to emphases the responsibility of informing clients of the changes.
