Germany likely to extend buyers’ premium for electric cars – report
dpa / Die Welt
Germany looks set to maintain financial incentives to buy electric vehicles, despite disappointing uptake, and may even increase subsidies in the most polluted cities, according to media reports. Government sources told dpa newswire the government was “seriously considering” prolonging the scheme – which launched in 2016 and is due to expire in June – until the end of 2020. Government sources told newspaper Die Welt it will decide whether to increase the premium for buyers in polluted cities before the summer recess.
Buyers currently get a rebate of 4,000 euros on the price of purely electric vehicles, and 3,000 euros on hybrid vehicles. Half of the rebate is paid by government and half by carmakers. The government provided 600 million euros to fund the scheme, but has only paid out 134 million euros so far, according to dpa. Germany had aimed to have a million electric cars on its roads by 2020, but has pushed this target back to 2022.
