The Driven
  • EV News
    • Electric Cars
    • Electric Bikes
    • Electric Boats
    • EV Conversions
    • Electric Flight
    • Electric Transport
    • Hydrogen Fuel Cell
    • Batteries
    • Charging
    • Policy
  • EV Models
  • EV Sales
  • Road Trips
  • Reviews
  • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
  • EV Explainers
    • FAQs
    • Readers’ Questions

The Driven
The Driven
  • EV News
    • Electric Cars
    • Electric Bikes
    • Electric Boats
    • EV Conversions
    • Electric Flight
    • Electric Transport
    • Hydrogen Fuel Cell
    • Batteries
    • Charging
    • Policy
  • EV Models
  • EV Sales
  • Road Trips
  • Reviews
  • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
  • EV Explainers
    • FAQs
    • Readers’ Questions
Comments
  • EV News
  • Policy

“Climate fraud”: German EV support boosting sales of big SUV hybrids

  • October 22, 2020
  • No comments
  • 1 minute read
  • Kerstine Appunn
bmw x5 phev
The BMW X5 PHEV. Source: BMW
Share 1
Tweet 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0

Germany’s recent e-car boom – a record number of electric vehicles were registered in September 2020 – is partly thanks to generous government incentives, but these are also helping to boost sales of big SUVs, Georg Meck writes in Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

Government subsidies for electric vehicles are also given to plug-in hybrids which run both on battery power and a combustion engine.

Their sales have picked up by 463 percent compared to September 2019, and it is large SUVs such as the BMW X5 plug-in-hybrid that are profiting from the government premium, Meck says.

And while car manufacturers praise these models as increasing acceptance of electric mobility, researchers and the Green Party say that funding such cars is wasting taxpayers’ money and could even be bad for the climate since a small combustion engine car is cleaner than a large SUV hybrid.

Green Politician Cem Özdemir called it “government funded climate fraud”, Meck writes.

The government’s advisory panel “National Platform on the Future of Mobility” has said that the government should re-design its e-car subsidies.

Under the government’s e-car promotion scheme, buyers of purely electric cars receive a payment of 9,000 euros towards their new car, and buyers of a plug-in hybrid get 6,750 euros. In addition, several German state governments are offering their own incentives for electric vehicle purchases, e.g. Berlin gives 4,000 euros towards e-cars.

The rule that the federal and the state premiums may not be combined, which had caused discontent among citizens who had already ordered their new e-cars, is to be abandoned again, Handelsblatt reported today.

Share 1
Tweet 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • electric cars
  • electric SUV
  • phev
Get the free daily newsletter

I agree to the Terms of Use

Trending posts
  • Model 3 lined up at dock. Image: Harald Murphy Insane! Thousands of Tesla electric cars are on the way to Australia posted on August 15, 2022
  • ioniq 5 “This is crazy!” Hyundai Ioniq 5 sells out again in less than ten minutes posted on August 10, 2022
  • Our Kona EV and teardrop camper. Why we stopped towing with our Hyundai Kona EV posted on August 12, 2022
  • All-electric MX-30 has very short range for a high price. Source: Mazda Prices slashed for Mazda MX-30 Electric due to lacklustre range posted on August 10, 2022
EV Explainers
  • vanderstock zappi How to save thousands when installing an EV charger at home posted on July 15, 2022
  • tesla charging Where can you charge a Tesla or other electric car for free? posted on February 27, 2022
  • Charging battery of an electric car - optimised EastLink The top ten electric vehicle myths that need to be debunked posted on November 3, 2021
  • tesla model 3 charging Which electric car delivers the best driving range for your dollar? posted on May 3, 2022
Emissions counter
  • EV News
    • Electric Cars
    • EV Conversions
    • Electric Boats
    • Electric Bikes
    • Electric Flight
    • Electric Transport
    • Electric Work Vehicles
    • Hydrogen Fuel Cell
    • Charging
    • Policy
  • EV Explainers
  • EV Conference
  • EV Models
  • EV Sales
  • Road Trips
  • Multimedia

the driven electric vehicle podcast

Get the free daily newsletter

I agree to the Terms of Use

Follow The Driven on Socials
The Driven
  • About The Driven
  • Get in Touch
  • Advertise
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Feedback
X
Aust's only instant solar & battery comparator. Since 2008.
Solar Choice

Input your search keywords and press Enter.