From Volkswagen to Opel, from Nio to Tesla: The sudden end of the government purchase bonus for electric cars is putting the industry under pressure. Numerous manufacturers announced that they would cover the premium themselves.
The abruptly canceled state purchase bonus for electric cars is being taken over by more and more car manufacturers themselves – at least for a limited time. Following the announcements made by several manufacturers at the beginning of the week, more producers followed suit today. Anyone who buys a new car with an electric drive these days still has a chance of receiving full funding, depending on the manufacturer. Specifically, this means a subsidy of up to 6,750 euros.
The federal government had actually planned to grant a purchase bonus for new cars of up to 4,500 euros until the end of the year. In addition, there was a half allowance from the manufacturer, i.e. up to 2,250 euros. On January 1, 2024, the state premium should be reduced to 3,000 euros and then expire at the end of 2024.
All of this no longer applies now that the federal government has 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 not enough. However, there are often several weeks or even months between order and delivery. Here too, some manufacturers are now apparently accommodating their customers.
Bonuses also for later delivery
This is the case with the car company Stellantis, which sells the brands Peugeot, Opel, Fiat and Jeep, among others. On the one hand, it guarantees the full premium of up to 6,750 euros until the end of the year for electric vehicles that were eligible for funding under the previous guidelines. On the other hand, Stellantis wants to cover the originally planned reduced premium of up to 4,500 euros for electric vehicles that have already been ordered and are registered by their owners by February 29, 2024.
The Korean manufacturer Hyundai guarantees its electric car customers who have signed a contract by December 17th the full environmental bonus from 2023.
Mercedes-Benz announced that it would also take over the state share in addition to the manufacturer’s share for orders that are delivered and approved by the end of this year. Provided the customer no longer receives this from the state. In addition, the Stuttgart car manufacturer wants to support orders that will be delivered next year as well as new orders from January 1st until further notice with the manufacturer’s share originally planned for 2024.
The largest German car manufacturer, Volkswagen, also initially wants to pay the subsidy itself. There will be the full premium for vehicles that are registered this year. For all eligible ID series electric cars ordered by December 15th and registered by the end of March, VW will cover the originally planned reduced rate of up to 4,500 euros.
Other manufacturers are following suit
Today, Chinese manufacturers followed suit. The electric car manufacturer Nio also covers the state share of the purchase bonus for orders placed by the end of the year and delivered 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 18th for which timely approval was not possible.”
The US car manufacturer Tesla is doing something similar. From December 18th, he will take over the lost funding for orders of the Model 3/Y that would have been delivered by the end of the year.
Tens of thousands of electric cars affected by the funding stop
Around 60,000 electric vehicles are affected by the sudden stop to the environmental bonus, according to a quick survey by the Central Association of the German Motor Vehicle Industry (ZDK). Extrapolated, it shows that half of the vehicles would have been delivered this year.
There is also a purchase agreement for the other half, but delivery is not planned until next year. A clear and predictable funding policy is needed here, said ZDK President Arne Joswig. “The trust in a comprehensible and rational federal government policy to promote electromobility has been massively damaged.”