3. ENERGY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND TRANSPORT

A short-term effect of the bonus-malus system is visible in recent sales figures for Swedish cars. In June 2018, the month before the policy was implemented, the sales of gasoline and diesel cars roughly doubled (Figure 3.13). After the introduction of the new taxation, overall car sales plummeted in July. Electric vehicles (EVs), supported by the bonus system, are on an increasing trend; EV sales in the fourth quarter 2018 were 60% above the same period 2017. However, it is yet premature to evaluate the long-term effects of the bonus-malus system on the Swedish vehicle fleet.

Figure 3.13 Monthly car registrations per engine type, May 2017 to Dec 2018

The new bonus-malus system strongly impacted new car sales in the months before and after the introduction.

* Others includes biofuel vehicles and hybrids other than plug-in hybrids.

Source: Bil Sweden (2018), Nyregistreringar (New Car Registrations), www.bilsweden.se/statistik/nyregistreringar.

National transport infrastructure plan 2018-29

Every four years, Sweden updates its national transport infrastructure plan for the next twelve years. In June 2018, the government presented the new infrastructure plan for the years 2018-29. The total budget is SEK 622.5 billion, around 20% more than in the previous plan for the period 2014-25. The allocated state budget is complemented with an additional SEK 90 billion collected from congestion taxes, railway fees and sponsors (Ministry for Enterprise and Innovation, 2018).

Maintenance of the existing infrastructure receives nearly half of the state transport budget: 26% for road maintenance and 20% for railways. The rest of the budget is for developing new transport systems, which includes high-speed railways. Furthermore, as part of the plan, the Swedish Transport Administration (STA) provides SEK 1 billion per year to the Urban Environment Agreements for investments in public transport and cycling infrastructures at the regional and local level. The budget also includes SEK 8 billion for research and development.

Energy efficiency in transport

Increased energy efficiency can provide emission reductions in the transport sector and complement the effects from fuel switching. A modal shift from cars to public transportation is one way to improve the overall energy efficiency in transport. Sweden supports investments in the public transport and cycling infrastructure at the regional and local level through the Urban Environment Agreements. For 2018-20, the government also allocated SEK 150 million to stimulate the transfer of freight transport by road to transport by shipping in an Ecobonus system.

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