Saxony Gets a Red Card for Climate-Damaging Company Cars

According to an analysis by Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), Saxony’s state government primarily uses official vehicles that are harmful to the climate. With average CO2 emissions of 169 grams per kilometer, the Free State receives a red card and ranks tenth among the federal states.

Only one of the twelve Saxon official vehicles listed runs exclusively on electricity. The vehicle belonging to Justice Minister Constanze Geiert (CDU) is rated at 59 grams of CO2 per kilometer in real-world driving—and is the only one to receive a “green card.” Five politicians drive diesel vehicles, and six drive plug-in hybrids.

Three Official Vehicles at the Top of the Negative List

The official vehicles of Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs Conrad Clemens, Minister of Finance Christian Piwarz, and Minister of Culture Barbara Klepsch (all CDU) have the highest carbon dioxide emissions—at 197 grams of CO2 per kilometer each. According to the analysis, Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) drives a diesel official vehicle with emissions of 167 grams per kilometer.

The plug-in hybrid driven by Environment Minister Georg-Ludwig von Breitenbuch (CDU) emits 182 grams and also receives a red rating. According to the DUH, the minister has switched from an electric car to a plug-in hybrid since the last official vehicle assessment. These cars have both a gasoline or diesel engine and an electric motor.

The DUH assigns a “green” rating for CO2 emissions up to 93.6 grams per kilometer, “yellow” for up to 112.3 grams, and “red” for anything above that. Vehicles with internal combustion engines receive a “red card” regardless of the calculated value.

Actual use of hybrids remains unclear

The figures are only partially comparable with other statistics. For plug-in hybrids, the DUH assumes that 11 percent of trips are made using electric power and 89 percent using the internal combustion engine. It remains unclear whether the Saxon company cars are actually used in this way.

For electric cars, the DUH takes into account the emissions from electricity generation. If multiple company cars were available, the vehicle with the highest CO2 emissions was used in the calculation.

Berlin’s Fleet Leads the Way

Berlin, with 99 grams, Baden-Württemberg with 109 grams, and Schleswig-Holstein with 112 grams, performed best in the evaluation. Bringing up the rear is Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with an average of 181 grams, followed by Saxony-Anhalt with 178 grams. No state government achieved a “green” overall rating.