New premium: What does the future electric car funding look like?

The goal is clear – but not the exact way. “We will promote e-mobility with purchasing incentives,” says the CDU, CSU and SPD coalition agreement. After the abrupt stop of the so -called environmental bonus at the end of 2023, the sales of electric cars had broken in, but the demand recently attracted again. Is there a new purchase bonus now?

Uncertainty about premium

In the coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD, a new purchase premium is not explicitly mentioned. The SPD member of the Bundestag Sebastian Roloff said Union and SPD wanted to support the automotive industry with a bundle of measures. Whether the purchase incentives in the form of a purchase bonus are implemented similar to the earlier environmental bonus or by the possibility of being able to assert a sum X of the purchase price in the tax return will be negotiated as part of an overall package to support e-mobility.

Quick decisions required

“A persistent debate about funding measures leads to buying purchase, so consumers will soon be able to clarify possibly intended measures,” said Hildegard Müller, President of the Association of the Automotive Industry. This applies to an expansion of tax funding as well as for the purchase or leasing of electric vehicles. A ADAC spokeswoman said it was important that the government parties quickly create clarity and that consumers no longer hovered in uncertainty to miss a possible funding.

Skepticism for a purchase bonus

The charging infrastructure and the electricity price are central to the sustainable start-up of e-mobility, said Müller. Union and SPD have announced relief for electricity price. “Tax measures can also make valuable impulses for the ride of e-mobility.”

Purchase premiums, on the other hand, could only be a supportive measure for market wheal, said Müller. The coalition agreement does not necessarily suggest a new edition of the environmental bonus. “Experience also shows that purchase bonuses always reserve the risk of short straw fires.”

The ADAC preferred relief to the price of charging current compared to vehicle funding, Michael Müller-Görnert from the Traffic Club Germany said that direct purchase funding was not a clever solution. “It is expensive, inefficient and socially unjust. It would be better to complement the vehicle tax with a CO2-based bonus/malus in the year of new registration. This would promote electric cars and make burners more expensive with high CO2 emissions.”

Demand for electric cars attracts again

In the first quarter, the new registrations of pure electric cars in Germany rose by almost 40 percent compared to the same period last year – however, the previous year’s quarter after the abrupt end of state funding was weak. As of January 1, 2025, there were around 1.65 million pure electric cars – with a total stock of around 49.4 million cars. In the coalition agreement of the former traffic light from the SPD, the Greens and FDP, the goal of at least 15 million fully electric cars until 2030 – there is now nothing to read in the coalition agreement between the Union and SPD.

What Union and SPD have announced

According to the coalition agreement, company cars as electric cars should be better favored for tax purposes. A special depreciation for e-vehicles and an extension of the vehicle tax exemption for electric cars by 2035 is also planned-so far, this applies until 2030.

Social leasing: model France

There should also be a so-called social leasing program for households with small and medium-sized incomes. This is to be financed from the EU climate social fund. “In France, it has become clear how big the interest can be if the framework conditions fit,” said Roloff. The SPD parliamentary group expects the program to start at the latest in 2027 if the European emission trade also applies to the building and transport sector and is accordingly available in the EU climate social fund.

The social leasing for electric cars, which was first offered in France in 2024, was used at the start of 50,000 households and thus much more than originally thought. It is about state leasing of electric car models from 100 euros per month. The offer was aimed at people with low incomes who rely on the car professionally and live at least 15 kilometers from their job. E-cars were funded up to a certain price upper limit, which preferred European and French manufacturers.

The conditions for the new edition 2025 were actually expected at the beginning of the year. Since France did not yet have a budget for the year after a government fall, the new edition is probably delayed until September.

CDU refers to affordability

The CDU financial politician Olav Gutting says about planned regulations for company cars, when they could be implemented specifically, depends on the affiliation. He referred to the plans of the expected future coalition that companies should be able to write off a higher percentage of their investment costs in the coming years. Because this should work retrospectively on January 1, 2025, it must be initiated immediately. Since this project is time -critical and expensive, other projects would have to be pushed if necessary.