The government has already introduced tax incentives for electric cars as company cars. Habeck said Berlin could send “the right market signals” to encourage the uptake of electric cars — which fell a precipitous 68 per cent in August, part of an ongoing slump caused by Berlin ending generous subsidies last year.
Long list of demands
There is no expectation of a major cash splurge, especially because the country is trying to slash spending to keep the federal budget from running a large deficit. That rules out a return to the so-called “scrapping subsidy” for old cars — put in place in 2009 and which spurred more than a decade of economic growth.
While industry has few illusions about the empty-pocketed government, it does want Habeck to act.
“A common understanding of the situation is extremely important,” VDA head Hildegard Müller told POLITICO, calling for concrete action against “excessive bureaucracy from Brussels and Berlin and lack of investment in charging and hydrogen infrastructure and in the power grid.”
The EU’s effort to stem the tide of Chinese-made EVs by imposing new tariffs is also a target of the German auto industry. While the measure is strongly supported by countries like France, German carmakers have long had a large and very profitable presence in China and are leery of angering Beijing.
The industry has been sounding the alarm for weeks, telling the government that the EU plans will cost them billions.