The of the Federal Government, published on the same day. They show both increased participation in the plans to significantly increase the budget allocation for the electric car purchase subsidy in 2027. According to the adjustment proposal submitted by the Federal Ministry of Finance for the final deliberations, the means-tested subsidy is to be increased from €803 million to €1.72 billion. That would be an increase of €917 million and more than double the previous allocation. The additional funding is to come from the Climate and Transformation Fund. The Bundestag has yet to formally approve the proposal.
The figures and reasons are set out in the adjustment proposal, which has been submitted to the budget committee for a decision. The information was reported consistently by the news agency Reuters and several German media outlets. Government sources point to the ongoing adjustment meetings of the Budget Committee; any changes remain subject to the parliamentary process.
The proposal cites much higher-than-expected demand as the reason for the planned increase. Take-up of the subsidy is developing “more dynamically” than anticipated, so the allocation is to be adjusted to meet demand. The proposal itself does not change the programme’s basic structure: means-tested support to help low- and middle-income households buy a battery-electric vehicle. The document does not specify the precise reach of the additional funding or forecast future application numbers; it serves as a basis for the final budget decisions.
The Federal Motor Transport Authority recently reported a higher proportion of new battery-electric vehicle registrations in its monthly statistics. Media outlets have also reported a high rate of approvals by the responsible authorities. Whether, and to what extent, the increased funding will extend the 2027 subsidy period or stabilise the average grant per application depends on the final decisions in the budget process.
Funding through the Climate and Transformation Fund has long been a key element of the federal government’s climate policy financing. The additional funding now being requested is intended to enable the 2027 federal budget to reflect sustained market demand for electric cars without fundamentally changing the programme’s existing framework. The final amount and allocation will be decided by the Budget Committee, followed by the Bundestag.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).