[Roritharr]

I really hope the German government does something to make it more desirable for employees to want the Model 3 or similar cars as company cars.

Just to explain the involved costs: There's two ways the government taxes company cars for employees, either you get to write a driving log, that then marks each route as either private or business and then you get the privately driven part taxed as income OR you just get 1% of the new car value taxed as income each month and don't have to provide a driving log. The company pays for leasing, gas and maintenance.

That's where electric cars savings on fuel and maintenance don't affect business customers, they don't care mostly because the company pays for the gas anyway and is used to do that so it will stay that way quite a while.

I just hope they give a tax break on the 1% rule, so it's just 0,5 or something similar that makes these cars more desirable compared to a similar priced gas guzzler.

[olex]

EVs (and PHEVs) already profit under the 1% rule - the base price gets reduced for the tax calculations, based on the battery size. I am absolutely planning on getting my Model 3 as a company car with the 1% regulation - my company has a Tesla leasing contract, and Tesla confirmed to me on the phone that I can convert my private Model 3 reservation to a company car, keeping the place in the queue and delivery schedule.

[Roritharr]

Sadly that taxbreak runs out in 2022 and until then declines every year, while not being that substantial. It's tied to battery capacity and maxes out at currently 8000€ from the new price. So with a Model S in a base configuration without any features for example you have to tax 600€ per month instead of 680€. That's a 12% reduction in tax burden, nothing that would push me towards a car in that price range, especially if I had to then accept less features for a similar price. For a Model 3 its more favorably pushing it up to 20-25%, but once again, compared to a similar priced gas guzzler, the feature/cost ratio isn't there, even if you compare it to relatively expensive BMWs or VWs.

I'm currently looking for a new company car and own Tesla stock so look at these numbers quite closely because I'd love to get a Tesla, but it isn't cost effective to get one if you can't factor in the gas savings and maintenance savings.

[_ph_]

Diesel cars are going up in costs for sure over the next time. car manufacturers have to equip them with working exhaust cleaning, and I am sure, the fuel taxes are going to rise after the elections. Electrical cars can also charge at your work place without it being taxed, that exception was made last year.

So I would see the Model 3 quite competing to a BMW 3 or 5 series - what is preferable pretty much depends on your preferences and needs.

[headmelted]

Been thinking the same myself. This is purely my own speculation, but I can see taxation of diesel at the pump skyrocketing in the next two years.

All these plans to scrap petrol and diesel engines by year X are clearly not genuine, and people see that.

No democratic government in the western world as an authority horizon further away than the next election - so rather than trying to ban something that may or may not ever take, it just seems more practical and more likely to just keep pushing up the price of the fuel by taxation until it no longer makes sense for anyone.

Bonus: you don't need to offer a scrappage bribe from the public purse either.

[doikor]

At least here in Finland electric cars use the same taxation method as Diesel called "käyttövoimavero" which roughly translates to "usage power tax". This is based on weight so 0,015€ per day per 100kg. On top of that there is the "car tax" which is based on emissions which for electric cars is at the minimum which comes at 106€/year.

One thing I am sure of is that once the amount of electric vehicles starts to rise they will just up the "käyttövoimavero" (or come up with a new one) to make up for the lost tax revenue.

[_ph_]

Tesla should offer the autopilot features as a monthly subscription to businesses. This way, they could lower the taxed sticker price of the car further.

[izacus]

You literaly want German government to subsidize purchase of products built by certain american corporation?

[Roritharr]

As a german having contact with many german car engineers and managers, our car brands really need a wake-up call. Badly.

[ameen]

How is paying 1% of the car value seen as attractive? Isn't it $590/month assuming you drove the same car the reviewer drove?

My monthly Uber/Lyft expenses are lower than that, infact top out at ~120 USD. I use it to commute to work, shopping, etc.

[vsl]

It's not. It's paying tax on $590.

[kukx]

They will not allow that, if that would result in Germans buying less German cars.

[tinco]

BMW has all-electric models like the i3. If the government made it really attractive to buy them maybe they'd put some more effort in making them affordable.

[samnwa]

Yes, but the Tesla looks cool so even business owners can see that.

[URSpider94]

The issue is that many European companies provide cars to their employees as a benefit. The employees then have to pay tax on their personal use of the car, at a rate proportional to the price. It's not the business owners who will care - it's the employees who have to pay the tax.