Plug‑in hybrids: EU utility‑factor raises Austria’s car tax

Austria’s plug‑in hybrid owners, fleet managers and dealers face an immediate, measurable cost risk after a change in the EU’s utility‑factor calculation. The formula — already adopted in EU law — will be tightened in two steps that take effect for new vehicle types from 1 January 2027 and for all new registrations from 1 January 2028. The result: many PHEVs’ official CO₂ numbers will rise sharply, and because Austria’s motor‑related insurance tax is calculated on those CO₂ figures, annual bills for some models will increase by hundreds of euros.

What changed — and when

The technical change is part of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/443, which adjusts the utility‑factor used to weight electric and combustion operation in WLTP-type approvals. The regulation specifies a step‑change of the normalized distance parameter from 800 km (older rule) to 2,200 km (Euro 6e‑bis) and then to 4,260 km (Euro 6e‑bis‑FCM). The Commission text sets the latter stage to apply to new types from 1 January 2027 and to all registrations from 1 January 2028. That shift lowers the assumed share of purely electric kilometres for PHEVs in official CO₂ figures.

Numbers for Austria — a concrete example

Local calculations show how visible the effect becomes: MotorNews Austria used the Peugeot 3008 PHEV (manufacturer list dated 16 October 2026) to illustrate the impact. Under the euro‑6 utility‑factor steps the same car’s WLTP CO₂ value shifts from about 17 g/km under the pre‑2025 UF, to c.55 g/km under the 2,200 km parameter, and to c.84 g/km under the 4,260 km parameter that applies from 2027/28. In Austria the motor‑related insurance tax for these PHEV classes charges €8.64 per gram of CO₂ per year; the MotorNews calculation finds the tax for that 3008 would rise from roughly €708 (registration in 2026) to about €874 for a registration in 2028 — an increase of about €166 per year for the same car. Already‑registered cars are not affected; the higher figures apply to vehicles type‑approved and registered under the new utility‑factor stage.