Starting next year, removing a vehicle from the registry will cost 800 euros. Currently, the fee is only 15 euros. People still have time to remove their vehicles from the registry beforehand.
Last year, approximately 60,000 vehicles were removed from the registry. There are still around 130,000 vehicles with suspended registration. Märten Surva, the director of the Transport Administration, says that the higher fee will affect vehicles that have been scrapped or demolished by their owners.
If the car is still intact, it can be taken to a waste handler, and it will be removed from the registry free of charge. Often, cars are scrapped only when they can no longer be sold or used.
According to Transport Administration data, fewer cars have been sold. Vehicle registrations were halved last year compared to the previous year. This shows that people are not selling cars as much.
Margus Tähepõld, the head of the Climate Ministry, says that taxes influence people's decisions. Selling older cars may become less practical. Therefore, cars may end up being scrapped.
Siim Sellik, the CEO of the Car Scrapping Association, says that the number of cars brought in for scrapping has not increased. The registration fee affects the market, and people are keeping their cars longer.
Sellik adds that official scrapping is simple. Owners receive compensation for their vehicles. If the car is newer, it is possible to get more money.
Although many vehicles were removed from the registry last year, the number of cars that end up being scrapped has not increased. New taxes affect transactions and decisions, not the number of cars on the road.