Plan to End E-Vehicle Subsidies Sparks Anger in Germany

ev charging

subscribe

BERLIN -

The German government has faced a backlash after abruptly ending an electric car subsidy scheme in a blow to the already struggling automotive industry.

The scheme is one of the casualties of a budget crisis caused by a shock constitutional court ruling in November that upended the government's spending plans.

The economy ministry said Saturday that Sunday would be the last day prospective buyers could apply for the scheme, which paid out thousands of euros per customer to partially cover the cost of buying an electric car.

A spokesman for the ministry admitted it was an "unfortunate situation" for consumers who had been hoping to take advantage of the subsidy, but it had no choice "because there is no longer enough money available."

Analyst Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer from the Center for Automotive Research warned the decision could have dramatic consequences.

"The competitiveness of [auto] manufacturers will now be severely damaged," Dudenhoeffer told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

The Handelsblatt business daily had already warned that scrapping the scheme risked jeopardizing Germany's plans to get 15 million electric cars on the road by 2030.

"This goal was already considered extremely unrealistic. Now it seems completely illusory," it wrote.

A total of around 10 billion euros ($1.1 billion) has been paid out since 2016 under the scheme for around 2.1 million electric vehicles, according to the economy ministry.

Germany's flagship automotive industry has been struggling with the transition to electromobility due to a weak global economy and low levels of demand.

In addition, it is facing a serious challenge from homegrown rivals in China, one of its most important markets.

"The Chinese are massively expanding their car industry because they have customers. Our manufacturers no longer have any," Dudenhoeffer said.

Germany's highest court decided last month that the government had broken a constitutional debt rule when it transferred 60 billion euros earmarked for pandemic support to a climate fund.

The bombshell ruling blew a huge hole in spending plans and plunged Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition into turmoil.

After adopting an emergency budget for 2023, Scholz and his junior coalition partners battled for weeks before finally finding an agreement for 2024.

Related News

global coal output

Global use of coal-fired electricity set for biggest fall this year

LONDON - The world’s use of coal-fired electricity is on track for its biggest annual fall on record this year after more than four decades of near-uninterrupted growth that has stoked the global climate crisis.

Data shows that coal-fired electricity is expected to fall by 3% in 2019, or more than the combined coal generation in Germany, Spain and the UK last year and could help stall the world’s rising carbon emissions this year.

The steepest global slump on record is likely to emerge in 2019 as India’s reliance on coal power falls for the first time in at least three decades…

READ MORE

Hydro-Quebec shocks cottage owner with $5,300 in retroactive charges

READ MORE

elon musk

Elon Musk could help rebuild Puerto Rico with solar-powered electricity grid

READ MORE

Town of Gander forgives $250K debt from local curling club

READ MORE

ontarios-electricity-future-balancing-demand-and-emissions

Ontario’s Electricity Future: Balancing Demand and Emissions 

READ MORE