Car comparison websites say new govt support pushes up e-car demand
Der Spiegel
The doubling of government subsidies for electric cars agreed last week as part of Germany's economic stimulus programme has considerably boosted interest for such vehicles on car comparison websites, reports der Spiegel. New car website Carwow said electric car configurations shot up to a share of 45 percent on the day of the announcement, compared to 10 percent one week earlier. The platform Meinauto.de said demand for electric cars almost doubled to around 24 percent following the agreement. Business consultancy Deloitte predicted that the increase in subsidies will increase annual sales of fully electric and plug-in vehicles in Germany by 40,000 to 200,000 in 2020, according to der Spiegel.
Last week, Germany's coalition government resisted industry calls for a buyer’s premium for all types of cars, and instead opted to double subsidies for fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars to up to 6,000 euros. In addition, the government announced a 2 billion euro “bonus programme” for investments in new technologies by carmakers and suppliers, and an extra 2.5 billion euros to expand e-car charging infrastructure.
