The second session of the conference, co-organized by the Mission Possible Foundation, the Polish Network of Economics (PLNE), and the SGH Student Association of Political Economy, turned its focus to the future of mobility.
Jakub Smelkowski (PLNE) opened the session with a keynote presentation titled “Is Poland’s Vehicle Taxation System Braking Transport Electrification? Poland Lags Behind the European Union.”
Legislation as the Real Roadblock to Electric Vehicles
Smelkowski put forward a provocative thesis: in Poland, the lack of charging infrastructure is no longer the primary bottleneck for electric vehicle (EV) adoption. The real roadblock is outdated tax legislation.
Without a fundamental overhaul of the tax code and the introduction of targeted fiscal incentives, corporate fleets will not electrify, and Polish drivers will remain locked into traditional, combustion-engine vehicles.
A Tax Haven for Polluters
Smelkowski argued that Poland’s lack of a registration tax linked to vehicle emissions and weight is a glaring policy failure. Implementing such a tax would finally put the EU’s “polluter pays” principle into practice. Under the current system, owners of high-emission vehicles routinely externalize their environmental and health costs – such as treating smog-induced illnesses and repairing soil and water degradation – onto the rest of society.
Furthermore, he targeted the civil law transactions tax (PCC). Currently, the PCC rate is identical whether buying a massive, internal combustion engine (ICE) SUV or an eco-friendly EV. Differentiating this tax based on drivetrain type is vital, especially for kickstarting the secondary EV market.
Smelkowski also pointed out that Poland lacks an annual ownership tax on older, highly polluting vehicles – a policy that operates with great success in countries like France and the Netherlands.
Heavy-Duty Electrification Needs Public Backing
Smelkowski referenced insights from Jan Wiśniewski of the Polish Association of New Mobility (PSNM), who explained that meeting the EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) mandates – particularly regarding charging hubs for electric trucks – is impossible without direct state intervention.
Market forces alone cannot rapidly build out infrastructure for the heavy-duty sector. To illustrate the policy imbalance, Smelkowski pointed to his co-authored paper with Dr. Maciej Grodzicki, “Subsidizing Polluters: How the Government Subsidizes Luxury Corporate SUVs and Sabotages Electromobility.”
Currently, EV adoption in Poland remains critically low:
Smelkowski demonstrated that the tax differential in Poland between buying a petrol SUV and an electric SUV remains remarkably narrow for businesses, failing to reflect the environmental damage of the former.
Why Poles Choose Gas-Guzzling SUVs
In 2025, the average subsidy for purchasing an electric car in Poland was just over €3,000 – among the lowest in Europe, offering very little incentive to buyers. Consequently, large and heavy petrol SUVs make up a much larger share of corporate fleet registrations in Poland than the EU average.
Are Subsidies Just for the Rich? The US Warning
Discussing Poland’s “NaszEauto” subsidy program, Smelkowski cited a prominent US study by Borenstein and Davis (2025). Analyzing green tax credits (for heat pumps, solar, and EVs) from 2006 to 2021, the researchers found that funding was overwhelmingly captured by the wealthiest households:
- The richest 20% received over 80% of all tax credits.
- The richest 5% pocketed 50% of the entire program budget.
- The bottom 60% of earners received less than 3% of the total support.
To prevent Polish programs from turning into a regressive tax, Smelkowski recommended following the French and German models by introducing income caps for applicants and maximum price limits on subsidized vehicles.
The French “Bonus-Malus” System
In response to moderator Daniel Owczarczyk (Bank Millennium / Kozminski University), Smelkowski detailed the French “Bonus-Malus” (incentive-penalty) tax structure as a blueprint for Poland. The system is simple: the heavier and more polluting your vehicle, the more you pay.
In France, CO₂ emission taxes scale drastically once a vehicle passes a set threshold – which stands at 108 g/km:
| Emissions (2026) | Additional Tax Penalty |
| 110 g/km | €210 |
| 150 g/km | €4,279 |
| 200 g/km | €80,000 |
France also penalizes vehicle weight over 1,500 kg, with weight-based penalties topping out at €80,000. Under this system, the buyer of a three-tonne fossil-fuel SUV faces over €38,000 in additional taxes (unless they qualify for exemptions, such as having a large family, a disability, or purchasing a hybrid/EV).
Policy Recommendations for Poland
Smelkowski formulated four core recommendations to merge environmental targets with social equity:
- Implement an “Eco-Score” System: A metric evaluating a vehicle’s life-cycle environmental impact, including manufacturing footprint. This would favor cars produced closer to Poland in low-emission economies.
- Social Leasing: Mirroring the French initiative, Poland should establish a state-backed, low-cost EV leasing program (minimum 3-year terms) aimed specifically at low-income households.
- Amortization Over Subsidies: Introduce accelerated and super-depreciation mechanisms for corporate EV purchases, a model proven in the Czech Republic and France.
- Annual Ownership Tax: Institute a recurring annual fee for internal combustion vehicles based on the “polluter pays” principle, similar to systems in Sweden, Denmark, and Spain.
Electrification vs. Emission Cuts: Two Distinct Goals
Maciej Miniszewski (co-author of the Polish Economic Institute report) noted that policymakers often conflate two distinct objectives:
- If the goal is rapid emission reduction: The most effective strategy is modernizing the existing ICE fleet – encouraging drivers to trade old, highly polluting vehicles for smaller, modern petrol or hybrid cars.
- If the goal is full electrification: The focus must remain heavily on targeted subsidies and infrastructure buildout.
Miniszewski noted that weight and emissions taxes (originally written into Poland’s National Recovery Plan but later negotiated out by the government) would not have triggered a mass wave of EV purchases. However, they would have effectively curbed smog by driving consumers toward smaller, traditional cars.
To accelerate true electrification, the state must focus on corporate fleets, which account for over 70% of new EV purchases. These vehicles eventually feed the secondary market, making EVs accessible to individual buyers a few years down the line.
Corporate Fleet Purchases (70% of new EVs)
│
▼ (approx. 3-5 years)
Secondary Market (Accessible to individual, lower-income buyers)
Miniszewski also highlighted Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology, where fleet owners can generate revenue by leasing their vehicles’ batteries back to the national grid as mobile energy storage.
The Financial Reality of Public Transit
Zbigniew Łabęcki presented findings from a Supreme Audit Office (NIK) audit (No. P/22/070) on Poland’s electromobility funding from 2018 to 2022. The audit revealed that only 30% of allocated public funds were successfully contracted during this period. The primary barriers were public resistance, a lack of charging stations outside major metropolitan areas, and high capital costs.
For example, buying an electric bus and its associated charging infrastructure was more than twice as expensive as buying a standard diesel model. Without external subsidies (which can cover up to 95% of the cost), local governments simply cannot justify the investment. Poorer municipalities that cannot afford new electric fleets are systematically locked into buying used diesel buses.
The NIK audit laid out the stark operational costs from 2022:
- Diesel Bus: ~8 PLN per kilometer.
- Electric Bus ( unsubsidized): ~11 PLN per kilometer.
- Electric Bus (with 90% subsidy): ~7 PLN per kilometer.
This data underscores that maintaining robust public subsidies remains absolutely critical to greening Poland’s public transit. When asked whether NIK had audited whether EV subsidies primarily benefit wealthier buyers, Łabęcki noted that while no such audit has been conducted yet, it is entirely feasible.
Underfunding the Railways
Dr. Iwo Łoś (University of Warsaw) pointed to decades of structural neglect in Poland’s transport spending:
- Since 1995, Poland has spent €68 billion on road infrastructure – nearly six times more than on railways (€11 billion).
- During this period, the highway network grew by 600%, while 4,500 kilometers of railway tracks (about one-fifth of the entire national network) were decommissioned, representing the worst rail-decline rate in Europe.
Dr. Łoś warned that EV subsidy criteria must be carefully calibrated to ensure that clean transport programs do not function as a regressive tax on poorer citizens.
The Student Perspective and Poland’s Industrial Edge
Weronika Woś (SGH) represented the youth perspective, noting that students remain highly skeptical of EVs due to persistent negative anecdotes. Additionally, the high upfront capital requirements make government support schemes completely inaccessible to the average student.
However, the panel ended on a highly promising note regarding Polish industry:
- Dr. Iwo Łoś highlighted that Poland is already a major European manufacturer of electric buses, allowing local governments to leverage local content for public transit.
- Maciej Miniszewski added that Poland ranks second in Europe in EV battery production, giving the country a formidable industrial edge in the transition.
Panel Conclusions
Jakub Smelkowski demanded a thorough overhaul of the transport tax system and called on the Ministry of Finance to release granular, public data on transport taxes to enable more precise policy modeling.
Maciej Miniszewski called for immediate legislation to unlock the grid-balancing potential of electric vehicles and buses acting as mobile energy storage.
