E-car subsidy: Failed due to a dash

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The signs that the application process for the new e-car subsidy would be really easy and quick to complete were actually good. Even before one could officially submit the application (starting today!), the BAFA had extensively informed how to prepare for it. It was also promised that one would not need numerous documents for this application. The last two tax assessments and some information about the car should suffice.

It could be so simple, but…

Since I belong to the eligible recipients and the e-car market finally presented a nice, small electric car according to my wishes, I prepared accordingly. Finally, it turned out: Even the best preparation – on both sides – cannot protect against the small stumbling blocks that only become visible in practice. It's just a short little dash, which is actually only supposed to mark a blank space. But my first application attempts failed because of this small dash, and subsequently, error correction started at the BAFA, which is not yet entirely complete. However, a workaround has already been found, which I am allowed to communicate here.

A commentary by Kristina Beer

Kristina Beer is an editor at heise online, where she writes about topics such as digitalization in education. Her work is characterized by an interdisciplinary perspective on technological innovations and their impact on society.

During the application, one has to identify oneself via Bund-ID and enter the purchased car with its vehicle identification number (VIN) and corresponding check digit. These are mandatory fields in the application. The problem: My vehicle has no numerical check digit. In the vehicle registration document, vehicle title, and also in the overview of the iKFZ app (digital vehicle registration document), only a “-” is indicated. This happens. It is the small horizontal dash, also called a fraction dash or short dash. (Not the long em dash, the en dash, which is now frowned upon as an AI hyphen.) I am not allowed to leave the field blank but must enter something.

But the fraction dash is not accepted by the application form and is classified as an incorrect entry. Initially, this stopped me from proceeding with the application. After several correction attempts, however, I checked if I could continue the application with the supposed incorrect entry. That worked. But in the end, the fraction dash caught up with me again. My application is completely filled out; everything is there, but I cannot submit it because the incorrect entry for the VIN must be corrected.

Quick reaction to contact request

After I had gone through this several times – having to fill out the application completely from scratch again due to too long inactivity during troubleshooting attempts – I clicked on the contact option offered on every application page. Even though I then had to endure a longer automated explanation of the application process, I spoke with a friendly person quickly. When I explained the problem, it quickly became clear that the fraction dash was also an unpleasant surprise for the other side. I was promised a callback, which came quickly.

In this, I was promised another callback, as I should at least be assured that someone is taking care of it and will get back to me. This call reached me now. The error could be reproduced and will be fixed as soon as possible. Until then, applicants should try different check digits until they no longer receive an error message. They can try the digits 1 to 9 and the X. Soon, this workaround will be mentioned via an info text in the application process, and the issue will be completely eliminated after the integration of the actually necessary conversion formula.

What remains now?

I am not angry or disappointed, but despite the small stumbling block in the application, I am very positively surprised overall by how the issue has been and is still being handled by the BAFA in the past few hours. Furthermore, the information before the actual application submission was already well prepared. The application process itself went smoothly; the query of the Bund-ID did not throw me out of the whole process, but I was quickly sent for verification and then arrived at my application form. I also really liked the emphasized data protection for my tax assessments. Because one should not simply scan and upload their tax assessments, but transform them like the Sudhof report into black fields with a few lines of text.

Here, applicants can probably make the most mistakes and upload files that can be de-blackened, as well as some Epstein files. However, that applicants should carry out these redactions in their interest was not only mentioned on the info pages with good example images but also clarified again in the application. If I had a check digit, I would probably have already completed the application. My next attempt should now be successful.

(kbe)