Germany's electric car grant fund runs out faster than planned

Germany’s new electric‑vehicle subsidy programme, launched on 19 May, has attracted far more demand than expected. Within the first 24 hours more than 17 000 applications were received, and after three weeks the total rose to 51 128 – 46 157 for pure electric or fuel‑cell cars and 4 971 for plug‑in hybrids. The programme, backed by €3 billion from the climate‑and‑transformation fund and intended to support up to 800 000 vehicles through 2029, is therefore likely to exhaust its budget well before the planned horizon.

Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) said the high uptake shows the incentive “works” and highlighted that the social tiering of the grant – with up to €6 000 per vehicle for low‑income households – is having the intended effect. About half of the applicants have taxable incomes below €45 000, qualifying for the maximum subsidy. The grant is currently limited to newly registered vehicles, with used electric cars not yet eligible, though an extension is being examined.