Ministry wants to intervene
Anger about misuse of the e-car promotion
02/16/2022, 12:14 p.m
Anyone who buys a new electric car in Germany can look forward to a bonus of up to 9,000 euros. However, the fact that many vehicles are exported abroad shortly after purchase is not what the government wants. The Ministry of Economic Affairs is therefore planning to adjust the minimum holding period.
The Federal Ministry of Economics wants to take action against abuse of the electric car subsidy: Numerous electric cars, which are subsidized in Germany with a purchase premium of up to 9000 euros, are exported abroad after the prescribed holding period of six months has expired. The ministry explained to the “Wirtschaftswoche” that it was therefore examining an extension of the minimum holding period from 2023. Citing circles in the ministry, the newspaper reported that the period should be extended to twelve months.
“It is not the purpose of the funding that subsidized cars are regularly resold to other European countries after the minimum holding period has expired and that this becomes a business model for dealers and buyers,” the ministry told the “Wirtschaftswoche”. The ministry has recognized this problem and is currently working on adjusting the funding from 2023.
The “Wirtschaftswoche” reported from circles in the ministry that the minimum holding period should be doubled from six to twelve months. Anyone who sells their subsidized e-car after less than a year would then have to pay back the subsidy. According to the report, the ministry assumes that the loss in value of a used car after twelve months is significantly higher than after six months, so resale abroad could become less attractive.
Car expert Stefan Bratzel from the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) in Bergisch Gladbach estimates that around 30,000 e-cars were sold abroad as young used cars in the first nine months of 2021 alone, as he told the “Wirtschaftswoche”. An investigation by the CAM comes to the conclusion that the German state promotes electromobility abroad. Conservatively estimated, “in 2021 alone” up to 240 million euros in state subsidies for purely electric vehicles should not have been used appropriately, the “Wirtschaftswoche” quoted him as saying.