NoVA 2021: Minimal impact on emissions

NoVA 2021: Minimal impact on emissions

140,000 tons of CO2. The new NoVA regulation is intended to reduce this amount of carbon dioxide emissions in Austria by 2030. Henning Heise, Chairman of the Austrian Fleet Association (FVA): “That sounds like a big achievement - but it is not, as a simple calculation example from the Austrian Fleet Association (FVA) shows.”

To do this, you have to know a few numbers, have some background knowledge from fleet practice and make a few connections. But first things first:

How many commercially used vehicles are currently registered in Austria?

At the end of 2020, according to Statistics Austria's vehicle inventory, 719,957 cars and 341,234 commercial vehicles were registered with companies in Austria. This corresponds to a total of 1,061,191 commercially used vehicles in the M1 and N1 classes.

How many kilometers do these vehicles drive on average per year?

Heise: "The annual mileage of commercially used vehicles is on average over three times as high as that of privately used cars and is around 35,000 kilometers per year. In total, the 1,061,191 commercially used vehicles drive around 37,141,685,000 kilometers per year. Or to put it another way: Together they cover the distance from the earth to the moon - that's almost 384,400 kilometers - Back 97,333 times.

According to the Federal Environment Agency's emission figures, cars and light commercial vehicles (<3.5 tonnes total weight) emit 296.5 grams of CO2 per kilometer driven. Heise: "Let's make it simple for the calculation and take the 249 grams, i.e. the lower CO2 values of the cars, as the basis for the further calculation and multiply the CO2 emissions per kilometer by the annual mileage of all commercially used vehicles, i.e. by the 37,141,685,000 kilometers. In total, this results in CO2 emissions of 9,248,280 tons per year. We can already see that 140,000 tons is not a big deal.”

How many kilometers does the planned saving through NoVA correspond to? If you want to know how many fewer kilometers each commercially used vehicle would have to drive per year in order to achieve the forecast, you only need to divide the 140,000 tons by the 249 grams of CO2 emissions and distribute them over nine years - let's remember, the savings are aimed at the period up to 2030. This corresponds to 562,248,996 kilometers in total - or 62,472,111 kilometers per year. “Each of the 1,061,191 vehicles currently used commercially would only have to drive 59 kilometers less per year to achieve the same CO2 savings as the government predicts as the NoVA effect,” emphasizes Heise.

CO2 reduction via NoVA-Neu comes at a high price

This calculation shows two things very clearly. “Firstly: NoVA is unsuitable as an instrument for reducing CO2 emissions,” said Heise. And secondly: "The slight reduction in CO2 emissions in Austria - the 140,000 tons correspond to a reduction of 1.5% of the total CO2 emissions of currently commercially registered vehicles. The minimal effect is therefore bought at a very high price. This is paid for by thousands of companies in Austria, which are currently going through an extremely precarious economic situation anyway."

The FVA chairman makes it clear: "We are in favor of greening the transport sector. Since its founding, the Austrian Fleet Association has been campaigning for the decarbonisation of professional mobility within the framework of targeted know-how transfer among local companies." For example, the association has already organized a two-day e-mobility conference together with the BieM (Federal Initiative for Electromobility), at which fleet managers also had the opportunity to test 50 electric vehicles of all classes. To this end, numerous seminars were held on the implementation of electric cars in the fleet, on the establishment of operational charging infrastructure and best practice lectures.

 "We feel that B2B mobility is changing. Many companies are moving towards CO2 neutrality or are currently preparing for it. We promote this through know-how transfer because we want to support fleet managers in the transition to mobility managers," explains Heise. And that is why the FVA is of the opinion that the strongest lever for CO2 reduction in the transport sector is not buried in higher taxes, but that the measures should be designed to be broader, more practical and with a motivating character.

On the one hand, the fleet association is calling for the introduction of NoVA for light commercial vehicles to be postponed by at least one year or for the NoVA calculation for light commercial vehicles to be corrected. Heise: "The market currently does not offer an electric alternative for all purposes. In the passenger car sector, a switch is already possible for the majority, but in the commercial vehicle sector it is still very difficult. If politicians now force entrepreneurs to switch, they risk the long-term success of e-mobility in Austria due to bad everyday experiences." (Note: We covered the topic in detail in Part 3!)

1-2-3 ticket is “perfect approach”

In addition, the FVA calls for Austria-wide funding for training and education for employees in the topics of mobility and travel management. Heise: "If more business trips and work-related trips were to be completed by train or rail & drive, then the annual mileage of vehicles would decrease by well over 59 kilometers per year. The 1-2-3 ticket initiated by Federal Minister Leonore Gewessler is a perfect approach for this. In order to have the maximum effect, more awareness is needed in companies, also to make the safety, cost and time advantages of this type of business trip better known. In short: you have to show companies that they can reduce fuel, fleet costs and CO2 emissions while increasing the efficiency and safety of their employees.”

Consider alternative forms of mobility

In addition, it is clear to the chairman of the fleet association that company bicycles and cargo bikes also have their advantages - even if they do not make it possible for all industries and companies to do without a light commercial vehicle. The situation is similar at the moment with vans; the market does not currently offer the right electric model for every purpose. Heise: "The decarbonization of transport also requires creativity and flexibility from companies. Every managing director should have the courage to look at possible alternatives to conventional vehicles and seriously test them in everyday life before categorical exclusion. This applies equally to Rail & Drive, e-mobility as well as job and cargo bikes."

All measures that contribute to reducing CO2 emissions are important. And bonuses are known to be stronger than punishments. The FVA therefore sees a great opportunity in measures with positive connotations and NoVA alternatives. Heise: "Domestic companies and their mobility behavior have enormous potential for CO2 savings. We therefore recommend that all entrepreneurs introduce employee motivation programs - and these should also be promoted by politicians." For example, a CO2 savings bonus would be conceivable for the FVA, which shows the CO2 mobility footprint of the company and individual employees for a certain period of time via a clearly documented before/after comparison. Heise: "On the one hand, that would make emissions transparent and, on the other hand, open up a playing field for motivational measures. Anyone who saves a defined percentage - whether company or employee - will be rewarded. Anyone who refuses or increases them will have to pay for it."

Start-up assistance in the form of grants

But these calculations are complex and time-consuming. Heise: "Entrepreneurs need positive perspectives for this. This involves a bit of additional effort at the beginning: you have to acquire know-how, raise awareness of the topic and motivate employees - and the companies have to invest. This would require support for emissions analyses, education and training, as well as the implementation of software tools that calculate the ecologically best travel option or route at the push of a button and automatically record the CO2 savings."

For Heise and the FVA, one thing is clear: "The emissions figures and climate change require quick and clear action. Vehicles of all classes are currently undergoing electrification at different speeds - and with it a transformation towards CO2 neutrality. One thing is clear: we will continue to need vehicles in the future - but we now have the chance to make operational mobility climate-friendly in the future. And this should be communicated and implemented as a joint project by politics, business and society."