Hamburg: 700,000 Euros for electric taxis in "Projekt Zukunftstaxi"
With support of 5000 Euros for a conventional taxi and up to 20,000 for a wheelchair-accessible taxi, Hamburg continues to promote e-cars as taxis.
(Image: ON Photography Germany/Shutterstock.com)
Since April 2021, the red-green governed Senate of the city of Hamburg has been promoting the switch to locally emission-free taxis. For the 2026 funding round, an additional 700,000 Euros have now been released. As of the beginning of 2025, only locally emission-free taxis and rental cars will be allowed to be newly registered in Hamburg, the city expects that almost the entire fleet will be electrified by 2030.
Anyone replacing a conventional taxi with an electrically powered one in Hamburg currently receives 5000 Euros. Funding of 10,000 Euros per vehicle is provided for registering an electrically powered large-capacity taxi with 8 to 9 seats, including the driver's seat. The Hanseatic city adds 20,000 Euros if it is a barrier-free vehicle equipped for transporting wheelchair users.
Full supply expected as early as 2030
The “Projekt Zukunftstaxi” (Future Taxi Project) is so successful that it may be concluded in a few years: After the first four funding rounds, around 750 out of currently almost 2900 taxis are emission-free, a quarter of Hamburg's fleet and more than anywhere else in Germany. Although 2150 taxis still run on combustion engines, Hamburg expects a “comprehensive” full supply of battery-electric taxis as early as 2030. Since the project began, more than 19,000 tons of CO₂ have been saved. Hamburg's authority for transport and mobility transition estimates the annual savings from electrifying the entire fleet at around 25,000 tons. Projekt Zukunftstaxi is a collaboration between taxi companies, taxi associations and dispatchers, authorities, vehicle manufacturers, and other private sector companies.
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In addition to financial support for the purchase, Transport Senator Anjes Tjarks also promises to expand the charging network with project partners Hamburger Energiewerke and Vattenfall. There are currently eight charging points exclusively for taxis with their own discounted electricity tariff, “by the end of 2026, there should be at least 30.” Another perk for electro-affine entrepreneurs and customers is a dedicated phone number. In Hamburg, e-taxis can be explicitly called or pre-ordered at 040211255.
(fpi)