Commentary on the new purchase incentive for e-cars: Questions upon questions

Contents

It is well known that urgent caution is required in making judgments when the view of the whole is still clouded. Let's start with the facts known at the time this article went to press: As things stand, the German government is planning to add another component to the existing subsidy for electric cars. People on low to medium incomes are to receive state financial support when buying an electric car. The funding pot set up for this purpose is worth three billion euros and is to be exhausted by 2029. It has to be said that nothing more concrete is known so far.

An opinion by Martin Franz

Martin Franz is the deputy editor-in-chief of heise/Autos. He has left his career behind him in order to devote himself to mobility in a different way: describing it. His enthusiasm for cars has changed without diminishing.

Who gets what?

This raises several questions, the answers to which are essential for a final judgement. For example, neither the group of beneficiaries has been precisely defined nor how the incentive for the individual will be organized in detail. The policy might be based on the average gross income. According to preliminary calculations by Deutsche Rentenversicherung, this is 50,493 euros this year, which corresponds to around 4208 euros per month – gross, not disposable. This currently leaves a childless single person with no other depreciation options in the most populous federal state of NRW around 2710 euros. One conceivable scenario would therefore be to restrict the group of people entitled to claim to those earning up to around 50,000 euros gross per year.

The design is even more uncertain. A model like the one tested in France is feasible. There, the leasing of inexpensive electric cars was financially supported. This would probably be the greatest approach for the car industry, as it would mean that today's leasing customers would automatically return to the dealer after a certain period of time. Be it to pay off the leased car or simply to take a new one with you.

New cars for low earners

Of course, the government could also pull the old plans of previous coalitions out of the drawer and simply offer a purchase premium. Then anyone in this salary bracket who can afford a new car would simply receive a certain amount from the tax coffers. How many people this would reach is likely to be part of the social debate in this article. As a reminder: around a third of all new car registrations in Germany are private; the rest are commercial. And of those who can afford a new car privately, only a very small proportion are likely to be on a low income. In addition, although the range of electric cars for less than 30,000 euros is growing, even such a sum is still an enormous hurdle.

Discrediting and promoting

Questions remain unanswered in the whole matter, especially in the political arena. For months, there has been verbal criticism of the so-called end of the combustion engine and calls for technological openness, although this is an integral part of the agreement at EU level. Anyone who uses their public position and the associated attention to tell the strange story of "modern combustion engines" over and over again, and considers climate protection to be of secondary importance, should not be surprised. Some addressees then doubt whether the battery-electric drive is the right choice for their (own) future. It is really hypocritical to publicly deplore the hesitant ramp-up of e-car sales in the same breath.

As with any public expenditure, the question must also be asked whether the funds are being used skillfully. Three billion euros, even if it is spread over an estimated four years, is not exactly pocket money. Just a thought experiment, but what would it have been like to spend at least half of this huge sum on exempting electricity at charging points from a few levies? This would have also benefited those who are dependent on the public charging infrastructure but who see their financial possibilities exhausted with a used electric car for a maximum of 15,000 euros. I don't think it's too bold a hypothesis to say that this would probably have helped people on low incomes in particular to switch to electric cars – if this is what you really have in mind. I'm probably not the only one who has slight doubts about this.

(mfz)