Sweden has long taxed cars that officially only run on E85 fuel, significantly lower than regular petrol cars. But it must end now.
Sweden's government is tired of the country's drivers taking advantage of the laws in the country. Especially when it comes to the registration of cars.
For a long time it has been the case that cars that officially only run on methanol – also called E85 – get a cheaper registration fee. Some Swedes see it as a loophole by simply driving on with ordinary petrol when the car is first equipped with number plates.
That's what We Bilägare writes.
According to Øresunddirekt, the so-called "vehicle tax" in Sweden is based on the type of car, the weight of the car and the fuel it uses. The more the car weighs, the more tax must be paid.
But this is the tax that cars that officially run on ethanol to some extent avoid. In any case, the tax is less because E85 is considered a smaller climate burden.
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However, the Swedish government does not like the trick of just pouring regular petrol into the tank after registration. Officially, there are more than 250,000 E85 cars in Sweden.
Here at home, there is no E85 at the gas stations at all. But the share of so-called bioethanol has nevertheless increased in recent years. In 2020, for example, the petrol companies went from only offering petrol with five percent ethanol to making a ten percent mixture the standard.
Today, you have to fill up with the often more expensive petrol with a higher octane rating than 95 to also fill up with E5 petrol in Denmark.
However, not all petrol cars can run on the higher ethanol mixture. It is especially older cars that can have difficulty with it. If you are in doubt, you will always be able to find the answer in your car's owner's manual.
While Sweden's government wants to crack down on E85 cheating, German gas stations will be completely allowed to phase out a certain type of gasoline. Read more about it here .
