BMW stand for the production of electric cars in Leipzig, according to a ruling of the EU court less subsidies than announced. Instead of a regional investment subsidy of 45 million euros, the state could only help with 17 million euros, judges ruled in Luxembourg.
The court followed the view of the EU Commission, which had cut the notified aid for BMW in Leipzig in 2014 accordingly. For the development of the production of the electric car i3 and the hybrid vehicle i8 in Leipzig BMW should receive subsidies in the amount of approximately 45 million euro. The European Commission approved in 2014 but only 17 million euros.
By contrast, the carmaker had sued – supported by the state of Saxony. The EU court now found that the aid for the construction of a production plant in Leipzig was only allowed to offset the additional costs of 17 million euros compared to a construction in Munich. It has not been established that aid amounting to more than EUR 17 million would actually have contributed to BMW making additional investments in Leipzig. A higher grant would have distorted competition and kept other competitors from investing.
“The drastic cut will ultimately penalize BMW for setting up an innovative investment project in a disadvantaged region,” a BMW spokesman said. BMW is now considering, according to a spokesman, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to take action against the judgment. The Munich-based company has two months to do that.