Subsidies - Electric car manufacturers take over the federal government's canceled purchase premium
More and more car manufacturers are taking over the abruptly canceled state purchase premium for e-cars themselves - at least for a limited period of time. Following the announcements by several manufacturers at the beginning of the week, further producers followed suit on Tuesday. So anyone who buys a new car with an electric drive these days still has a chance of receiving the full subsidy, depending on the manufacturer. In concrete terms, this means a subsidy of up to 6750 euros.
The German government had actually planned to grant a purchase premium of up to 4500 euros for new cars until the end of the year. This was to be supplemented by a half subsidy from the manufacturer, i.e. up to 2250 euros. On January 1, 2024, the government bonus was to be reduced to 3000 euros and then expire at the end of 2024. All of this has now been canceled after the federal government had to correct its budget planning.
What is particularly problematic is that the bonus is only paid if the vehicle has been registered. A purchase contract alone is therefore not enough. However, there are often several weeks or even months between ordering and delivery. Here, too, some manufacturers are now accommodating their customers.
Manufacturers also pay bonuses for late delivery
This is the case with car manufacturer Stellantis, which sells brands including Peugeot, Opel, Fiat and Jeep. On the one hand, it guarantees the full premium of up to 6750 euros until the end of the year for electric vehicles that were eligible for subsidies under the previous guidelines. On the other hand, Stellantis wants to take over the originally planned reduced premium of up to 4500 euros for e-vehicles already ordered and registered by their owners by February 29, 2024. Korean manufacturer Hyundai is still guaranteeing its e-car customers who have signed a contract by December 17 the full environmental bonus from 2023.
Mercedes-Benz announced that for orders delivered and registered by the end of this year, it will pay the government's share as well as the manufacturer's share. Provided that the customer no longer receives this from the state. In addition, the Stuttgart-based car manufacturer intends to subsidize orders that will be delivered in the coming year as well as new orders from January 1 until further notice with the manufacturer's share originally planned for 2024.
Germany's largest car manufacturer Volkswagen also wants to pay the subsidy itself for the time being. The full premium will be paid for vehicles registered this year. For all eligible e-cars of the ID series ordered by December 15 and registered by the end of March, VW will pay the originally planned reduced rate of up to 4500 euros.
Other manufacturers join in
Chinese manufacturers followed suit on Tuesday. The e-car manufacturer Nio is also paying the government's share of the purchase premium for orders placed by the end of the year and deliveries by the end of January. Its Chinese competitor MG announced that it would "pay the same amount of the environmental bonus itself for all orders placed before December 18 for which timely registration was not possible".
The US car manufacturer Tesla is taking a similar approach. From December 18, it will take over the lost subsidy for Model 3/Y orders that would have been delivered by the end of the year.
Tens of thousands of e-cars affected by the subsidy freeze
Around 60,000 e-vehicles are affected by the sudden stop of the environmental bonus, according to a flash survey by the German Association of the Motor Trade (ZDK). Extrapolated, it shows that half of the vehicles would have been delivered this year. There is also a purchase contract for the other half, but delivery is not planned until next year. A clear and predictable promotion policy is needed here, said ZDK President Arne Joswig. "Trust in a comprehensible and rational policy by the German government to promote electromobility has been massively damaged."
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Source: www.stern.de
