BERLIN, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Germany will reintroduce subsidies for private consumers purchasing electric vehicles, the environment ministry announced on Monday, reviving incentives that were halted at the end of 2023.
The new program will cover newly registered battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), certain plug-in hybrids, and extended-range electric vehicles newly registered from Jan. 1, 2026. Subsidies will range from 1,500 euros (1,745 U.S. dollars) to 6,000 euros, the ministry said.
"This provides a strong boost for electromobility in Germany and for our domestic automotive industry," Environment Minister Carsten Schneider said. He added that the 3-billion-euro program is expected to support the purchase of around 800,000 vehicles through 2029.
The online application portal is expected to open to the public in May this year. Under the scheme, amounts will be based on household income and family size, as well as vehicle type, rather than on list price alone. Households with a taxable annual income below 45,000 euros and at least two children under the age of 18 qualify for the maximum subsidy when buying a BEV.
Hildegard Mueller, president of Germany's auto industry association VDA, welcomed the incentives as a "broadly positive step" but cautioned that subsidies alone would not ensure a sustainable market ramp-up. She said long-term success depends on improving "framework conditions," including expanding charging infrastructure and lowering electricity costs.
Germany first introduced purchase incentives for electric vehicles in 2016, but ended the program in late 2023 to address a federal budget shortfall. That program supported the purchase of roughly 2.1 million vehicles at a cost of approximately 10 billion euros, according to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
Following the phase-out of subsidies, new BEV registrations fell by more than 27 percent in 2024 to about 380,000 units, according to data from the country's road traffic authority KBA. The market rebounded in 2025, however, with BEV registrations surging 43 percent and accounting for about one-fifth of all new passenger car registrations. (1 euro = 1.16 U.S. dollars)
