The sudden end of the environmental bonus shocked car buyers and manufacturers alike. As of December 17th, the federal government will no longer pay a subsidy when purchasing an electric car. This results from the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling on the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), through which the federal government was deprived of 60 billion euros. This also affects all those who have already ordered their vehicle but are still waiting for delivery. The environmental bonus can only be claimed when the electric car is registered. After signing the purchase contract, some models are suddenly up to 7,000 euros more expensive due to delivery times lasting months. The move was met with sharp criticism in the auto industry; The industry association VDA said it undermined trust in politics.
Volkswagen explained that the exit date of December 17th had created clarity regarding the expiry of the environmental bonus. However, all orders that could not be approved until last weekend were not taken into account. “This leads to a deep loss of trust,” said a spokesman. “Customers ordered electric vehicles in the belief that they would receive government funding and are now left empty-handed.” Not quite. Because some companies have announced that they will continue to pay the environmental bonus.
Volkswagen continues to pay the environmental bonus
Volkswagen will take over the payment from the federal government for a limited time. The company announced on Tuesday that the regulation was made as a gesture of goodwill and applies to private customers who ordered a corresponding vehicle before December 15th. For cars that are registered this year, the discount is up to 6,750 euros – for vehicles that are registered by February 29, 2024, it is up to 4,500 euros.
Volkswagen is following Opel’s parent company Stellantis, which had already announced on Monday that it would continue to pay the state bonus. The group also includes Fiat, Abarth, Citroën, DS, Peugeot and Jeep. Electric cars from Stellantis brands that have already been ordered and will be registered by February 29th will receive the originally planned bonus of up to 4,500 euros. The environmental bonus is granted as an additional discount.
Kia, Hyundai and BYD
Mercedes has announced that it will continue to pay its electric car customers the manufacturer’s share of the previous environmental bonus. If the car is delivered this year, the manufacturer will also cover the state share. Next year, Mercedes promises to continue paying the originally planned reduced manufacturer share. This is 1,500 euros with a net list price of less than 45,000 euros.
The subsidiary Smart takes over for electric cars that are purchased by December 17th and registered by the end of the year. the full state funding share of 4,500 euros. If the vehicle can only be registered from January 1, 2024, Smart will pay the reduced environmental bonus. This also applies to electric cars ordered or purchased between December 17th and 31st.
Kia and Hyundai are trying to prevent the feared slump in sales of electric cars with a similar campaign. Anyone who buys an E-Kia by December 31st will also receive the environmental bonus of a maximum of 6,750 euros in 2024 – if the car is registered within three months of delivery.
The sister company Hyundai also guarantees the full environmental bonus for purchase contracts that have already been concluded. Anyone who bought a Kona Elektro, an Ioniq 5 or Ioniq 6 by December 16th and registers it this year will receive a state bonus of 4,500 euros from Hyundai in addition to the manufacturer’s share. If the car is registered by the end of March 2024, it will be the originally planned reduced funding of 3,000 euros.
BYD, MG, Škoda and Nissan
The Chinese manufacturer BYD has also presented a corresponding offer for its customers. Anyone who bought or ordered an electric car by December 17th and registers it by December 31st will receive the federal government bonus of 4,500 euros. BYD then pays the reduced environmental bonus of 3,000 euros. Orders for vehicles received by December 31, 2023 and registered by March 31, 2024 will receive the manufacturer subsidy of 2,677.50 euros.
MG engine, which sells some of the cheapest electric models in Germany, will cover the original environmental bonus for all orders placed by December 17th if approved by January 15th. The brand then pays its customers the manufacturer and BAFA share, which should apply for 2024.
Nissan also offers a similar model. Including vehicles of the brand ordered by December 17th and registered by December 31st, the manufacturer guarantees the full environmental bonus, and the reduced environmental bonus from January 1st.
Things get more complicated Skoda. The full bonus is available if the electric car ordered by December 15th has a confirmed delivery date of January 10th, 2024, complies with the BAFA funding guidelines and is newly registered in Germany by December 31st. Škoda will also pay 4,500 euros for the Enyaq and Enyaq Coupé models, which will be ordered by December 15th and delivered from January 11th.
Subaru, Tesla, Toyota and Lexus
Private buyer of Subura have a little more time. You will receive the full bonus with a purchase contract until January 31, 2024 if the vehicle, currently only the Solterra, is registered no later than February 29. Tesla also compensates for the loss of the environmental bonus for all Model 3 and Model Y orders if the vehicle is ordered and delivered between December 18th and December 31st. The manufacturer basically wants to maintain the manufacturer’s share of 2250.
Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus guarantee all customers who have ordered an electric car eligible for funding the previous full funding amount of 6,750 euros in accordance with the previous state funding regulations. This also applies to all vehicles from the inventory that are purchased by December 31st.