After the state’s subsidy for electric cars abruptly ended, the car company took over Stellantis the entire environmental bonus for its private customers in the short term. The multi-brand manufacturer (among others Peugeot, Opel, Fiat, Jeep) guarantee the full premium (up to 6,750 euros including the manufacturer’s share) until the end of the year for electric vehicles that were eligible for funding under the previous guidelines. The company announced this on Monday in Rüsselsheim.
In addition, Stellantis wants to cover the originally planned reduced premium of up to 4,500 euros for electric vehicles that have already been ordered and are registered by their owners by February 29, 2024. The environmental bonus is granted as an additional discount in the respective amount.
Stellantis: Don’t leave customers out in the cold
The federal government introduced the one introduced in 2016 at the weekend The funding program for electric cars unexpectedly and abruptly stopped. As of this Monday, the responsible Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) is no longer accepting applications. The authority confirmed that only the inventory would be processed. The funds for 2023 have already been used up, sources at the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Sunday. The 209 million euros scheduled for 2024 will probably only be sufficient if the funding expires with immediate effect.
The customers are not left out in the cold, explained Stellantis Germany-Chief Lars Bialkowski according to a statement. “We were very surprised at the decision to end the environmental bonus with far less than 48 hours’ notice.”
Volkswagen: “This leads to a deep loss of trust”
The industry association VDA called on the federal government and Bundestag on Monday to find a solution. Denying people support because they want to continue to stick to the registration date instead of the purchase date of an electric car “undermines consumers’ trust in the reliability of politics,” said VDA President Hildegard Müller (56).
Volkswagen explained that the exit date of December 17th had created clarity regarding the expiry of the environmental bonus. However, all orders that could not be approved until last weekend were not taken into account. “This leads to a deep loss of trust,” said a spokesman. “Customers ordered electric vehicles in the belief that they would receive government funding and are now left empty-handed.”
Environmental association sees industry’s turn
The German Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation sees the car industry as having its turn. BUND traffic expert Jens Hilgenberg told the German Press Agency in Berlin: “The electric cars that German companies are currently offering are simply not affordable for a large part of the population.” There is great potential in small cars. “However, German companies are currently refusing affordable electric cars for the masses.”
Around 10 billion euros in tax money have flowed in recent years to put electric cars on the road, Hilgenberg said. “The biggest driver for more electric cars on the road was and is not the purchase premiums, but rather the EU fleet regulation.” It regulates the average CO₂ emissions that the vehicles of the respective group sold in Europe in one year may not exceed .