5.4 BM4 - Fringe benefit plug-in cars
More than 50% of new car sales in Sweden are
fringe benefit cars, so if electric cars can be made
attractive for those customers, a substantial share
of the new car market becomes accessible.
However, the fringe benefit car customer segment
is somewhat special. Mostly, the fringe benefit car
is the family’s primary car, i.e. they chose one that
can take them wherever they need and want to go.
The fringe benefit car may also implicate status to
some extent - not everyone gets a fringe benefit car
offer. So the brand and model matters as status
markers. In Sweden, fringe benefits are subject to
tax additions, but cars with CO2 tailpipe emissions
below 50 g/km are taxed significantly lower.
While the fringe benefit tax of traditional cars is
based on their prices, the fringe benefit tax of plugin
cars is based on the closest comparable
traditional car minus the least of 40% or € 1.758.
This rule ensures that plug-in cars always receive a
lower tax. That lower tax plus a lower energy cost
usually more than well compensate for the higher
purchase price.