Lower state support and high power prices could derail e-car boom in Germany – report

The boom of battery electric cars could face a significant hurdle next year as rising power prices and the end to state support could eat up cost advantages compared to combustion engine vehicles, Handelsblatt cited calculations published by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). “From 2023, electric cars run into significant cost disadvantages for consumers in Germany,” CAR director Ferdinand Dudenhöffer told the newspaper. If all costs are taken into account, from the purchase price and insurance to the costs of energy,maintenance, and the loss in value after five years, electric vehicles in Germany today often are cheaper to operate than similar combustion vehicles. However, once rising wholesale power prices are fully passed on to consumers and e-car support is reduced next year, cost advantages could be “nullified,” CAR said.

The government has recently decided to lower e-car support in Germany. “E-vehicles are becoming increasingly popular and will no longer need government subsidies in the foreseeable future,” economy minister Robert Habeck said. The Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) said that a quarter more electric cars were registered in Germany in the first half of 2022 than in the same period last year.