2024 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:13
The federal government is putting a stop to financial start-up aid when buying an electric car. The Berlin agency for electromobility is now taking a different path.
By Thomas Flehmer
The electromobility law passed last week has drawn numerous critics onto the scene. "It was a good first step, but not a great success," says Gernot Lobenberg in an interview with Autogazette. The head of the Berlin Agency for Electromobility (eMO) sees the decision as a "shift to sideline war sites at the expense of the states and municipalities."
No government contribution to the Electric Mobility Act
Because free travel on the bus lanes or the free use of reserved parking spaces are at the expense of the municipalities. "With the law, the federal government does not make any financial contribution and important steps such as the charging infrastructure are disregarded in this first step," Lobenberg continued.
The continued lack of financial support will not help electromobility achieve a breakthrough - let alone the federal government's target of one million electric vehicles by 2020. Especially for commercial fleets, financial incentives are lacking, says Lobenberg, because those responsible "have to think carefully about what the money will be used for. But that's not how the big hit will come."
"InitiativE" project subsidizes the purchase of electric cars
Lobenberg reckons that electric vehicles are only worthwhile when they run at least 30,000 kilometers a year. And precisely this number of kilometers is difficult to achieve in the city. "Even 15,000 to 20,000 kilometers is a lot."
The agency, which bundles the regional potential in the course of the "International Showcase Electromobility Berlin-Brandenburg" funded by the federal government for three years, is therefore trying to find other ways to make electromobility more attractive. In cooperation with the Federal Environment Ministry (BUMB), 45 percent of the additional costs of an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid compared to a conventional vehicle with a combustion engine are subsidized within the "InitiativE" project. The offer is aimed at traders.
Up to 10,000 euros discount
The offer is intended to appeal to smaller companies in particular, as the large companies only allow electric vehicles to function as a fig leaf. Coupled with a special leasing procedure, the 14 vehicles on offer - from the Tesla Model S to the Renault Zoe - would result in benefits ranging from 2100 euros for the Smart to 10,000 euros for the Volvo V60 Plugin Hybrid.
In order to bring the offer closer to potential customers, the agency invited 300 traders to gain practical experience with the vehicles. "A total of 500 trips were made that day," says Lobenberg. The first interested parties are already there, but the most important finding was the practice of gaining initial experience with electric cars. "The security service 'Securitas' has six electric vehicles in its fleet that initially nobody wanted to drive," says Lobenberg, "it was only with practice that enthusiasm rose. Now employees only want to drive electrically."
Charging infrastructure in Berlin is growing
Lobenberg hopes that the "InitiativE" project will get more interested parties interested in electromobility. Around 500 electric cars are to be sold to smaller companies over the next three years. And the experience releases new ideas.
At the company "Securitas" the idea of starting a so-called business car sharing came up. The security company's electric cars are only needed at night. "Another company could use the vehicles during the day," said Lobenberg. "The vehicles are recharged within half an hour at a fast charging station." And the number of pillars continues to grow, Lobenberg already sees a well-equipped network in Berlin "on the way to becoming an internationally recognized model for electromobility."
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