10-15,000 cars are on their way to Norway for customers who will receive huge tax breaks.
Rechargeable hybrids have become the middle ground for those who want to be environmentally friendly, but who are not quite ready for electric cars.
Toyota has, among other things had phenomenal success with its rechargeable RAV4. With an electric range of over seven miles, it has managed to become Norway’s second best-selling car so far in 2021.
Also read: Electric cars are exempt from VAT from the New Year
The orders have cleared in for many brands, and there are now many around the country waiting for their new rechargeable car. Some have waited a little extra long due to delays that have occurred due to the pandemic.
Giant tax slam for over 10,000 cars
But when Erna Solberg presented her latest state budget, she thought that they rechargeable hybrids should lose their tax benefits. And Jonas Gahr Støre’s new government agrees.
Thus, the stage is set for a huge tax jump for the new year: The rechargeable hybrids get around 40-85,000 kroner higher taxes.
– The Storting must change this. People who have ordered a rechargeable hybrid this autumn and who will have it delivered over the New Year will get a powerful fee bang with this proposal. It is between 40 and 80,000 kroner per car, and it applies to 10 -15,000 cars, said recently NAF chief Stig Skjøstad.
Together with Bilimportørenes Landsforening and Norges Bilbrasjeforbund (NBF), they demand that the tax cut is at least postponed until ordered cars have arrived in the country:
– The Storting must, as a minimum requirement, postpone these increases for six months, for the sake of consumers and the industry, says Stig Morten Nilsen, CEO of NBF.
Ask customers to consider terminating the contract
NAF is now asking customers to consider what to do. The tax increase from the new year means that many cars will be significantly more expensive than the contract they have signed says.
– If you have ordered a car that receives a sharp tax increase, you should investigate the terms that apply in your contract, says Vigdis Svennungsen, head of NAF lawyer in a press release.
In the Norwegian Automobile Industry Association’s standard contract, there is a separate item that mentions price. It states that if the price of the car increases by more than six percent of the agreed contract amount, the buyer will be able to withdraw from the contract. However, this does not apply if the delivery time has been agreed with 6 months or more from the time of the contract.
The tax increase on most rechargeable hybrids will be greater than this limit.
Toyota: – Can cancel if they want
Information manager Espen Olsen at Toyota says that they have “well over” 1000 cars that are on their way to Norway, but which do not arrive until the New Year.
They have still not decided how to handle the tax increase. This is not the first time that the fees have changed much over the New Year, and there have been different practices among importers about how this is handled. For example, earlier this year Porsche gave customers a guarantee that they would take the VAT bill on Taycan if a tax was introduced from the New Year.
– We still have a hope that the government will change its mind. But we use the standard contracts that the industry agrees on, and have said that customers can cancel if they want, Olsen says.
Below we have collected some of the cars that will really feel the new taxes:
- Audi Q7: +87.041
- Audi Q8: +85.561
- BMW 545e: +69.915
- BMW X5 xDrive45e: +59.889
- DS 7: +47.084
- Ford Explorer: +81.037
- Hyundai Santa Fe: +66.671
- Jeep Wrangler: +81.827
- Kia Sorento: +70,670
- Range Rover Vogue: +82.445
- Range Rover: +85.652
- Mercedes E-klasse: +82.208
- Mercedes GLE: +53.192
- MG EHS: +50.263
- Mini countryman: +37.990
- Mitsubishi Exlipse Cross: +65.454
- Opel Grandland: 37.394
- Suzuki Across: +50.413
- Toyota RAV4: +40.589
- Peugeot 3008: +47.816
- Peugeot 508: +60.345
- Porsche Panamera: +86,327
- Porsche Cayenne: 78,304
- VW Touareg: +87.279
- Volvo S60: +71.099
- Volvo XC90: +83,676
- Volvo XC60: +78.992
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