MobilityConsumers open to political measures in mobility sector

Today, the German energy agency dena published the results of a representative survey on the mobility transition in Germany. According to the results, the majority of German consumers are open to political measures to promote changes in the transport sector.

For this survey and as part of the dena project 'New conception, development and operation of a central information platform for the energy transition in road traffic', forsa conducted telephone interviews with 1,002 people aged 18 and above in Germany in November 2020.

These are further details:

• Around 70 percent of respondents considered differentiated prices for cars depending on their CO₂ emissions as a suitable instrument for reducing transport-related CO₂ emissions.
• A corresponding 'bonus/malus system' would lower the cost of purchasing vehicles with low emissions and increase the costs for vehicles with high emission levels.
• More than one quarter of respondents who either supported or criticized this system considered the adjustment of vehicle taxes in relation to CO₂ emissions as an effective policy instrument. About one fifth of respondents of both groups could imagine the introduction of a cap on permissible CO₂ emissions. 14 percent of those in favor and seven percent of respondents against in the 'bonus/malus system' rated significantly higher fuel prices as an effective measure.
• With higher fuel prices, 70 percent of the consumers surveyed also would tend to purchase a vehicle with alternative fuels.
• With 74 percent, the vast majority of respondents rejected a general ban on vehicles with combustion engines. Compared to 2019, however, the share of those in favor of a ban on gasoline and diesel engines grew from 18 to 25 percent.

Andreas Kuhlmann, Chairman of dena’s Executive Board, commented: "The survey results show once again that the willingness to pay for fuel for one's own car is very high and well above today's fuel price level. The incentive to buy fuel-saving cars or to be more efficient in terms of mobility can therefore only be set through long-term push and pull measures going forward. A purchase premium for a car is only a short-term impulse. In order to continuously reduce traffic-related emissions, however, significantly stronger price signals are required for emission-intensive fuels and high-consumption vehicles. At the same time, public transport and bicycle offers must become even more attractive in order to facilitate the transition towards EcoMobility."

Source: dena

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