What electric cars pay in motor vehicle tax in Solothurn, how the tax is calculated and what is changing.
In Solothurn, battery-electric cars are currently fully exempt from motor vehicle tax, while combustion cars are taxed on engine capacity. The cantonal parliament passed a new law on 6 May 2026 that is meant to apply from 1 January 2027: electric cars would then be taxed on gross vehicle weight only (government draft: CHF 0.10 per kg), combustion cars additionally on power.
Currently: passenger cars are taxed on engine capacity (cc). New law (planned from 1 Jan 2027): combustion cars on gross vehicle weight (CHF 0.10 per kg) plus power (CHF 1.15 per kW); zero-emission vehicles on gross vehicle weight only (rates as in the cantonal government's dispatch of 16 Dec 2025).
Under current law (section 19ter of the cantonal road traffic ordinance), vehicles powered exclusively by electricity have been exempt from vehicle tax since 1990; the Motor Vehicle Inspectorate confirms this on its website. The total revision of the motor vehicle and ship tax law abolishes the exemption. Zero-emission vehicles (as defined in Art. 9a VTS, i.e. battery and hydrogen) will be taxed on gross vehicle weight only, with power priced at CHF 0. According to the cantonal government, they will therefore always pay less than a comparable combustion car. Buses, vans, lorries and boats with zero-emission drives get a 20% discount. No time-limited rebates or bonus-malus system are planned.
No exemption today (it only covers vehicles powered exclusively by electricity); taxed on engine capacity. Under the new law, hybrids are taxed like combustion cars: on gross vehicle weight and the power of the combustion engine.
Total revision of the motor vehicle and ship tax law: government dispatch of 16 Dec 2025, passed by the cantonal parliament on 6 May 2026 (a Green Party motion to delay taxing EVs by five years was rejected). On 22 Sep 2026 the cantonal government adopted the implementing ordinance (SVAV). Planned entry into force: 1 January 2027, which would end the EV exemption.
Tesla Model Y, Gesamtgewicht 2'456 kg, nach neuem Gesetz ab 2027 (Vergleichstabelle in der Botschaft des Regierungsrats; 2026 noch steuerfrei): CHF 246 per year (source)
The cantonal parliament's decision of 6 May 2026 is documented only by media reports and the session newsletter; the final rates adopted by parliament (CHF 0.10 per kg and CHF 1.15 per kW are those of the government draft) and the vote result are not confirmed. It is not confirmed whether the optional or mandatory referendum applies (depending on a two-thirds majority) or whether the cantonal government has formally set entry into force for 1 Jan 2027. The example (CHF 245.60) is based on the government draft.
The Auto-Check works out how much you save overall with an electric car, using your own assumptions.
As of: September 2026. All information without guarantee. The tax bill and the cantonal road traffic office are authoritative.
