Schwarz Group pauses German electric fleet purchases

The Schwarz Group, the German retail conglomerate that owns Lidl and Kaufland, announced it will temporarily stop ordering fully electric vehicles for its German service fleet, reverting to internal‑combustion or hybrid models. Electric cars currently make up about five percent of the company's fleet, amounting to thousands of vehicles, but the group cited rapid depreciation and uncertain subsidy policies as the main drivers of the change. Data from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand show that after one year a pure‑electric vehicle retains only about 47 % of its original price, compared with 59 % for a comparable gasoline model, raising total ownership costs.

The decision does not affect the group's operations in other European countries, where EV purchases and charging‑infrastructure development continue as part of its 2050 climate‑neutrality target. Schwarz Group typically buys vehicles outright and later resells them on its own used‑car platform, a model that amplifies the impact of residual‑value losses on its overall fleet costs.