German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, campaigning for re-election, called on Tuesday for the establishment of a European bonus for the purchase of electric vehicles, as the country’s car industry struggles to switch to battery-powered cars.
“We need incentives to buy electric cars, in the form of a European bonus or direct support for electric cars made in Germany,” Olaf Scholz wrote on social media after a visit to the factory of the American manufacturer Ford in Cologne.
Economic policy is at the center of the campaign for the early legislative elections on February 23 in a Germany that is fighting against a slow economy and the questioning of its industrial model, of which the automobile is a pillar.
The outlook is particularly bleak for German manufacturers, which face high costs, falling demand and growing competition from China.
End of bonuses
In search of budget savings, the Government of Olaf Scholz abruptly ended, a year ago, the subsidy bonuses for the purchase of electric vehicles, causing a collapse in sales in the country and turbulence among the most European manufacturers.
After manufacturers have invested billions in electricity, the government must do “what we think is necessary in terms of support” to consolidate the transition to this mobility, Olaf Scholz told factory workers on Tuesday.
“We also want the whole of Europe to make an effort,” said Olaf Scholz. According to him, a European purchase bond would “naturally” be the best solution.
Another possibility would be help from the German government, with prior approval from the European authorities, “focusing on what is produced here,” he continued.
A similar model already exists in France: bonuses for the purchase of electric cars are paid according to a complete catalog of environmental criteria, which also take into account production and transport.
Electric cars produced in China that use carbon-based electricity are therefore excluded from the system.
A symbol of the difficulties of the domestic automobile industry, Volkswagen, the largest European automobile manufacturer, plans to close plants in Germany for the first time in its history.
The manufacturer Ford, whose European headquarters is in Germany, recently announced a plan to eliminate 2,900 jobs in the country by 2027.
Source: BFM TV
