You’ll Have to Pay to Use the Highway. Blame EVs: Javier Blas

When Europe last year agreed that by 2035 all cars sold in the region would be zero-emissions (read: electric), the most obvious question in my mind was: Who would pay for that?

Because gasoline and diesel vehicles are a great business — not just for the obvious companies, say Volkswagen AG and Stellantis NV, which produce them, or, Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE, which refine the fuels. But they’re also helpful for another sector that’s often overlooked: European governments, which over the last 50 years have turned internal combustion engines into tax machines.

Last year, the top five European economies earned more than ...