The government will do everything to find a solution which would prevent price hikes of new vehicles as of 2019, that could be caused by new, stricter standards for measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said on Thursday.

Asked after the government session on Thursday to comment on warnings by the Croatian Chamber of Economy’s (HGK) division for car and car part sales that the price of cars could skyrocket next year due to new, stricter European standards of measuring CO2 emissions, Maric said the government would find a solution to that problem by the end of the year, which would prevent car prices hikes.

The HGK warned that stricter standards of measuring CO2 emissions, known as the WLTP protocol, would enter into force at the start of 2019, and replace the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), meant to represent the typical usage of a car in Europe, after 20 years.

Under conditions defined by EU law, the WLTP laboratory test is used to measure fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from passenger cars, as well as their pollutant emissions.

The CO2 emission represents one of the factors used in car tax system taxes, which is why Croatia is facing a serious car price hike.

Foreseeing the hard transition period between the two test cycles, Europe has created another value, designed to soften the transition, called NEDC 2.0, which is obtained from the WLTP value. It allows a reduction of the effect of increasing CO2 levels on the car tax system.

The HGK suggested that expenses, deduction and benefits (ATN/VAA) will be calculated with NEDC 2.0 data until 1 January 2020.

Maric said the government had, in a way, anticipated this situation and reduced the special tax on vehicles at the beginning of 2018, wanting to make new cars more available.

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