Why There and Not Here???

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by NachtRitter

2. higher taxes on fuels and subsidies for the most efficient fuel, diesel (though I'd heard that may be getting phased out?)

In the countries where diesel is still cheaper, taxes are getting higher to bring it up to - possibly beyond - the price of gas.

It's very likely diesel will be priced according to its energy content / CO2 output in the not too distant future - that'd mean some 13% more expensive than gas.

3. higher taxes on vehicles with higher displacement engines
4. higher recurring fees for registration for vehicles with higher displacement engines

Registration taxes are one-off, but we also have a yearly road tax.

Traditionally, these were based on HP and or displacement, but this is shifting towards taxing based on the official CO2 output, corrected for the kind of fuel.

I'm pretty sure someone mentioned that the diesel subsidies are going away in Europe, so that will change the dynamics a little bit... but I'd guess only on the fuel type.

In Belgium the government rebates went out when the euro-crisis came along and the federal gov belatedly realised they were subsidising nearly 1/3 of all new cars sold privately with rebates up to 15% !
These were almost exclusively diesel cars - and Prius / Insight.

The change in policy is having an immediate effect, as the % of diesels is dropping off within the year !

[GRU]

it's simple.. They sell what people buy

If a carmaker doesn't believe they will sell enough cars in the US to make a profit, then they don't offer it here

[NachtRitter]

It's when you try to nail down why people buy what they do that it becomes complicated.