Applications for the German federal government's electric vehicle subsidy program have surpassed 100,000. As of August 5, a total of 103,500 applications had been submitted for the program.
Of these submissions, more than 28,000 applications had been approved as of August 4. The Bundesamt für Wirtschaft und Ausfuhrkontrolle (Bafa) is the agency responsible for processing these applications.
Income distribution and eligibility
The subsidy is based on the two most recent tax assessment notices. Almost three-quarters of all applications came from households with a taxable annual income of up to 60,000 euros.
Specifically, 52,377 applications came from households with a taxable annual income of up to 45,000 euros, representing roughly half of the total applicants. Another 22,488 applications were submitted by households with a taxable annual income between 45,001 and 60,000 euros, accounting for nearly a quarter of applicants.
The federal government originally limited the electric vehicle subsidy to households with a taxable income of no more than 80,000 euros. However, for families with at least two minor children, the income limit is 90,000 euros.
Subsidy amounts and vehicle types
Pure electric vehicles receive subsidies ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 euros, while plug-in hybrids receive between 1,500 and 4,500 euros. The total subsidy amount for electric vehicles can reach up to 6,000 euros. For families and single parents with minor children in the household, an additional subsidy of up to 1,000 euros is available.
Subsidy amount for pure electric vehicles
More than 90 percent of the applications were for pure electric vehicles, while less than ten percent were for plug-in hybrids or range-extended electric vehicles. Regarding ownership, 51,851 applications were for purchased vehicles and 50,688 were for leased vehicles.
Market trends and program funding
In June, electric vehicles became the most sold vehicle type in Germany for the first time in a single month.
The subsidy program is retroactively applicable to vehicles registered since January 1 of the current year. This retroactive eligibility created a backlog, causing a delay in approving applications. Data from the Federal Environment Ministry in July showed that Tesla and other foreign manufacturers initially benefited most from the subsidy.
If all currently submitted applications were to be approved, the federal government would pay out approximately 400 million euros.
There were already more than 50,000 applications for the electric vehicle subsidy.
