Germany introduces subsidies for electric cars

– State support for private buyers is provided for electric cars and the so-called plug-in hybrids, and depending on the car model and the financial situation of the buyer, they will range between 1,500 and 6,000 euros – announced Minister of Environmental Protection Carsten Schneider from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

The subsidy is valid retroactively for cars purchased since the beginning of this year. Households with incomes above 80,000 euros per year are excluded from the subsidy program. The exception is households with children, where the upper limit of earnings that enables the subsidy is 90,000 euros. The maximum subsidy of EUR 6,000 per car applies to families with at least two children whose income does not exceed EUR 45,000 per year.

For plug-in hybrids and cars with so-called with extendable range (Rex), subsidies are half as low. During the debate preceding the vote in the Bundestag, representatives of the Green Party criticized the subsidy of hybrid cars that also use internal combustion engines.

The Greens also criticized the program, which, in their opinion, does not make electric cars, which are more expensive to purchase than gasoline and diesel cars, favorable for citizens with lower incomes.

“We need a program that will provide a nurse who lives outside the city and is dependent on her own car with an inexpensive small electric car. You have left this group of citizens in the lurch,” said Green Party representative Till Steffen during the debate.

The German government financed the purchase of electric cars in the past, from 2016 to 2024, but due to budget problems, it canceled the subsidy. Because of this, the number of newly registered electric cars in 2024 dropped sharply.

In 2025, the number of new electric cars has increased. Last year, 545,000 new electric cars were registered in Germany, which represents about 20 percent of the total number of new cars.

Among the top ten best-selling models of electric cars, without exception, there are models of German manufacturers, with the Volkswagen model ID.7 in first place.