From January 1, 2023: New rules on the purchase bonus for e-cars
Created: 12/09/2022 10:24 am
By: Fabian Pieper
The falling premium for e-cars is causing stress among buyers.
© Patrick Pleul/dpa
The government purchase premium for the purchase of a new electric car is intended to encourage purchase.
But not everyone will get them in full.
Berlin – While the proportion of electric and hybrid cars in new registrations in 2017 was just over three percent, just four years later more than four out of ten newly registered cars were vehicles with electric drives.
The market for e-cars is therefore booming, while drivers will have to adapt to changes in 2023.
One reason for the e-car boom in Germany is likely to be the environmental bonus introduced in Germany a few years ago, which has since assured buyers generous support with a state share and a share from the manufacturer when purchasing an e-car, as kreiszeitung.de reported.
Thanks to the so-called innovation premium, the state premium even doubled two years ago.
But for the year 2023 there is also a change in the house.
So far, buyers of battery-powered cars have been able to dust off a bonus of up to 9,000 euros.
Anyone who bought a plug-in hybrid still received support of up to 6,750 euros.
The purchase bonus was distributed independently of the list price of the vehicle.
It is intended to make the switch to more environmentally friendly drive types more attractive and easier.
E-car purchase premium at risk: E-car buyers are under great pressure
But it was clear right from the start: the purchase premium should only be paid out for a limited period of time.
From January 1, 2023, e-cars will no longer be promoted as much as they were before the turn of the year.
Among other things, experts are forecasting a slump in sales figures for the coming year.
In detail, the changes look like this:
The state subsidy rate for cars that cost less than 40,000 euros according to the list will no longer be subsidized with 6,000 euros, but only with 4,500 euros.
For cars with a list price between 40,000 and 65,000 euros, the state subsidy will drop from 5,000 to 3,000 euros.
Vehicles with a list price of more than 65,000 euros will still not receive any funding.
Plug-in hybrids will no longer be subsidized from January 1, 2023.
From September 1, 2023, only private customers will receive the subsidy.
In addition, the funding pot is to be capped: for 2023 to 2.1 billion euros, for 2024 to 1.3 billion euros.
From January 1, 2024, the proportion of funding is to decrease even further.
The problem for many e-car buyers: You can only apply for the subsidy after the registration has been completed - and not from the time the purchase contract is concluded.
This means that time is running out for buyers, as many registration offices will close for the holidays at the end of 2022.
For this reason, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK) and the Central Association of the German Motor Vehicle Trade (ZDK) have called in a letter to the central municipal associations to “restrict the ability of the vehicle registration offices to work in the last few days of this year to maintain".
New rules for the purchase premium for e-cars: no grace period for e-car buyers in sight
At least the federal government is sticking to its plans: "The date of the funding application, which requires vehicle registration, remains decisive for the funding," said a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) to the "Handelsblatt".
Accordingly, this means: If you still want to secure the full amount of the bonus, you should hurry.
But there is still a way for all those affected to save important time.
