Electric cars: Weil calls for government purchase incentive

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Stephan Weil, Minister President of Lower Saxony, is once again calling for new incentives when buying an electric car. In an interview with the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper, the SPD politician said that the abolition of the purchase premium was "definitely a big mistake", which had led to a considerable drop in sales. He argued that a state incentive to buy an electric car was absolutely necessary again.

Alternatives to a purchase premium

This does not necessarily have to be a return to the old purchase premium. For him, tax reductions are also conceivable. "Private e-car customers could then deduct a certain proportion of the purchase price over a number of years and would therefore have a tax advantage." Either way, people need a financially tangible signal that the state is moving further in the direction of electromobility and wants to help citizens.

Interest in the recovery of VW

Stephan Weil has good reasons why he is publicly considering tax-financed incentives for the purchase of an electric car in the upcoming federal election campaign. As Minister President of Lower Saxony, he has several large VW plants in his state, including in Emden, Osnabrück, Hanover and Wolfsburg. The threat of closure would potentially mean more unemployment. As he also sits on the VW Supervisory Board as Minister President, he has a vested interest in the recovery of the company, which is currently in difficult waters. Weil is probably hoping that a fresh government incentive will boost sales of electric cars from the Volkswagen Group.

Quick agreement required

This is not the first push Weil has made in this direction. At the end of September, he proposed a tax reduction for the purchase of electric cars, without specifying the size of the discount. With a view to the cost-cutting plans at Volkswagen, he renewed his appeal to resolve the dispute over savings and a new collective agreement before Christmas. "This can and should - if at all possible - be achieved," said Weil. "Those involved in the wage negotiations should not leave hundreds of thousands of people in uncertainty about their professional future and that of their families over Christmas and New Year's Eve." IG Metall called for warning strikes at nine of Volkswagen's ten German sites.

(mfz)