Germany to give EV market €1bn boost
Germany is backing electric cars to the tune of €1bn in subsidies.
It was announced on Wednesday that the government and car industry will contribute up to €1.2bn between them to help get the technology moving, with subsidies of €4,000 to buy an electric vehicle and €3,000 for a plug-in hybrid.
€300m will also be found to develop a charging infrastructure over the next three years, with 15,000 new stations.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Sigmar Gabriel, economics minister, said the aim was to boost the number of electric cars in the country from 50,000 to 500,000, and to help secure Germany’s place at the forefront of the industry.
‘The car that will emerge in 10 to 20 years will be completely different to what we have now,’ he said, ‘and that’s why it must be the common goal of business, unions and politicians to advance the development of these cars on Germany’s domestic market.’
The government and the car industry will split costs down the middle, although cars over €60,000 will not be eligible, meaning the subsidies will favour the manufacturers of mass-market vehicles.
