Foreign brands benefitting most from Germany's EV purchase support
Handelsblatt
Foreign producers of electric vehicles (EVs) benefit more from Germany’s vehicle purchase support scheme than most domestic brands, figures released by the environment ministry have shown, according to newspaper Handelsblatt.
Only two of the 14 most subsidised brands were German carmakers, while US company Tesla led the ranking, with 2086 supported EVs. Czech brand Skoda, which is owned by Germany’s Volkswagen, ranked second with 1,197 cars, followed by French company Renault with 784 vehicles. The Volkswagen brand ranked eighth, with 593 EVs bought with purchase support, placing it between Chinese producers Leapmotor (613) and BYD (544).
Earlier media reports that the programme might disproportionally support Chinese brands were rejected by the ministry. The programme was launched at the beginning of 2026 and offers up to 6,000 euros to lower-income households buying or leasing fully electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and range extenders from any producer.
The government had said the premium would help Germany’s ailing car industry, which in recent years has been grappling with dwindling market shares and difficulties in shifting its business model away from combustion engines. In response to the crisis, Volkswagen is currently considering 100,000 job cuts.
The subsidy scheme had a slow start: With about 54 million euros disbursed since the programme launched, less than two percent of the earmarked funds have been spent so far, the ministry said.
Green Party economy spokesperson Julian Joswig, whose party had requested the support figures from the ministry, said subsidising US carmaker Tesla, whose CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly sought to influence German politics in favour of far-right policies, was hard to explain at a time of difficulty for Germany’s car industry. Sebastian Roloff, economy spokesperson for the Social Democrats (SPD), who are in a coalition with chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives, said the programme would have to be adjusted. “Supporting American or Chinese brands with German taxpayer money cannot be the objective of this exercise,” he told Handelsblatt.
A “Made in Europe“ provisions for state support could become part of the EU’s Industrial Acceleration Act (IAA), which would allow tighter conditions for state aid to industry. While the SPD supports rules that protect domestic production, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), warns against relying on local content requirements. “It is more important to highlight the competitiveness of the location,” said CDU economy spokesperson Andreas Lenz.
Limiting support to certain brands would reduce the choice of available EVs, including potentially cheaper vehicles. At the same time, Tesla produces many of its EVs at its factory in Germany, while Chinese producers are in talks with German brands over opening production lines in the country, which could also benefit the local economy.