What 2024 will bring for your fleet
Fleet managers and drivers will once again be faced with a number of changes this year. In addition to stricter regulations for the NoVA, engine-related insurance tax, CO2 pricing and benefits in kind, there are also new regulations for speeding offences and more mandatory technology in new vehicles. An overview.
Tightening of the standard consumption tax
Due to the automatic tax increase adopted in 2019, the standard consumption tax (NoVA) will be tightened again this year. Cars and commercial vehicles with combustion engines will therefore become more expensive again from 1 January 2024.
- The CO2 limit value, i.e. the value above which the NoVA becomes due, will fall by a further 5 per cent to 97 g/km for passenger cars and 150 g/km for commercial vehicles. According to the ÖAMTC, this increase affects all petrol and diesel cars, with the exception of a few hybrid vehicles. Pure electric vehicles remain exempt from the NoVA.
- The penalty threshold above which a higher standard consumption is due for each gram of CO2 per kilometre will fall to 155 g/km for passenger cars and 208 g/km for commercial vehicles. In addition, the penalty amount per gram of CO2 for cars and commercial vehicles will be increased to 80 euros.
- Furthermore, the maximum tax rate, i.e. the upper limit for the NoVA percentage, will be raised to 80 per cent (still at 70 per cent in 2023).
According to calculations by FLOTTE, the NoVA for a VW Tiguan TDI with CO2 emissions of 132 g/km will rise from 1,870 euros to 2,240 euros. An increase of 370 euros. The situation is similar for commercial vehicles. For heavy models (e.g. Mercedes Sprinter, Ford Transit) with correspondingly high fuel consumption, however, there are noticeable increases of several thousand euros.
The stricter regulations apply to all new vehicles from 1 January 2024. If an irrevocable written purchase agreement for a new vehicle was concluded before 1 December 2023, the lower NoVA 2023 still applies if the vehicle is delivered before 1 April 2024.
Stricter motor-related insurance tax
The motor-related insurance tax will become more expensive for almost all vehicles registered for the first time from 1 January 2024. Specifically, the CO2 allowance will fall to 103 g/km (2023: 106 g/km) and the power allowance to 61 kW (2023: 62 kW). Nothing will change for vehicles that are already registered.
Increase in CO2 pricing
After the CO2 price was lower than planned last year due to high energy prices, it will be raised to 45 euros per tonne in 2024 as provided for by law. At the pump, this will lead to price increases of 3.7 cents per litre of diesel and 3.4 cents per litre of petrol. The climate bonus is actually intended to cushion the additional burdens from CO2 pricing, but this has not yet been finalised for 2024.
The commuter allowance and the commuter euro, which were temporarily increased in the last two years due to the high fuel prices, were returned to the basic amounts by the legislator this year.
Changes to benefits in kind
If a company vehicle is also used privately, tax must be paid on it. If the CO2 emissions of a vehicle exceed a certain limit, 2 per cent of the purchase price must be taxed each month instead of 1.5 per cent. This limit has now been lowered to 129 grams per kilometre according to WLTP for all vehicles registered for the first time from 1 January 2024 (2023: 132 g/km). For vehicles registered for the first time before this date, the limit value applicable at the time of registration applies. E-vehicles will continue to be exempt from the benefit in kind.
Purchase bonus for e-vehicles
The purchase of e-vehicles is once again being subsidised by the government and car importers this year. As in the previous year, however, only private individuals can take advantage of this subsidy.
Tougher penalties for speeding offences
From 1 March 2024, extreme speeding offences (more than 80 km/h in urban areas and more than 90 km/h outside urban areas) may result in the vehicle being confiscated by the police and subsequently auctioned off. In the case of leased vehicles, a lifetime driving ban for the driver will be entered in the vehicle documents instead of being auctioned off.
New mandatory assistance systems
According to the EU Type Approval Regulation, vehicles that are registered for the first time from 6 July 2024 must be equipped with the following mandatory driver assistance systems
- Emergency Brake Assist
- Emergency lane departure warning system: If the lane is left despite prior warning, the system actively intervenes and steers the vehicle back.
- Intelligent Speed Assist: The vehicle warns the driver if speed limits are exceeded.
- Reversing assistant
- Emergency brake light: The vehicle indicates heavy braking by means of a pulsating brake light or rapidly flashing hazard warning lights.
- Drowsiness warning system
- Event-related data recording ("black box"): In the event of an accident, accident-relevant parameters are recorded anonymously before, during and after a collision for accident research purposes. It must not be possible to draw conclusions about the vehicle, owner or driver.
- Facilitated installation of "alcolocks"
New motorway tax sticker
The new tax sticker in the colour sun yellow will replace the purple tax sticker of the previous year by 31.1.2024 at the latest. The price remains unchanged and is 96.40 euros for the annual car motorway tax. A new feature from this year is that the digital tax sticker can be re-registered once per calendar year. The only requirement is that the registration holder remains the same. The re-registration costs 18 euros.
In addition, a 1-day motorway tax sticker will be available in Austria for the first time this year. It is only available digitally and costs 8.60 euros. Hungary and the Czech Republic are also offering one-day vignettes from this year.