Technically, it happened exactly according to the book. But it was certainly not the intention that Wismo Group would earn almost 10 million kroner from exporting electric cars, says the former Swedish minister.
In Sweden, the former Danish car importer Wismo Group, which imports Stellantis in Denmark and Sweden, has received 14 million Swedish kronor, equivalent to 9.3 million kronor, from the state treasury.
The money comes from the so-called climate bonus, which the Swedes received until November 2022. And that pisses off Sweden's former climate minister Isabella Lövin.
Helsingborg Dagblad writes that.
The former climate minister is very dissatisfied with the fact that Wismo Group, which until December last year was called KW Bruun, has earned many millions by having the electric cars registered for six months.
After six months, the cars have been exported out of Sweden. And that was definitely not the intention, says Isabella Lövin, who is currently a member of the European Parliament.
– It is completely wrong for a major actor to exploit the system like this, says former climate minister Isabella Lövin.
Regardless of the ex-minister's outrage, there is nothing to be done. At least not legally, and Wismo Group is far from the only one who has been able to see a scam in the treasury.
The same could be done by private individuals in Germany, because our large neighbor to the south stopped providing state support for electric cars. Germans could keep the subsidy for the cars if they owned the cars for at least six months.
For the same reason, many of the used electric cars that came to Denmark from Germany before the scheme disappeared were six months old.
What should happen with both electric cars and the support schemes for them is a very open question in several countries. And yet.
Because while the government in Denmark, led by Tax Minister Rasmus Stoklund (S), refuses to make electric cars more expensive, as they should be according to the latest restructuring of car taxes from December 2020, the German government is hesitant to reintroduce a support scheme.
So far, only people in company cars can get the state to finance some of the new electric cars. And in Sweden, the current government is clearly saying no to supporting electric cars again. The reason is that electric cars are now so cheap that they can match both gasoline and diesel cars in price.
Conversely, the Swedes want to keep gasoline and diesel prices down. However, this is primarily because it was something the government promised before it came to power in October 2022.
