BMDV: Funding for 1,000 electric cars and 250 charging points

The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) has released an additional 20 million euros for the procurement of vehicles and the development of charging infrastructure as part of the Electric Mobility Funding Directive. A total of 86 projects were approved, including 36 from municipalities and 50 from companies, the ministry announced. This directive supports the procurement of more than 1,000 vehicles and nearly 250 charging points, clarified the office of FDP Transport Minister Volker Wissing.

"To sustainably and permanently reduce emissions in transport, we need electric mobility. Taxis and courier services, in particular, have an enormously high mileage of thousands of kilometers annually – especially in our inner cities. Therefore, we are promoting the switch of municipal and commercial fleets to electric mobility with 20 million euros," Wissing explained.

The funding is intended to support municipal and commercial fleets such as motor pools, company cars, taxis, mobility and sharing services in an accelerated switch to alternative drives. By using renewable energies, these vehicles achieve significant CO2 savings with their high mileage, thus contributing to the achievement of climate protection goals in transport. The BMDV is pursuing an overarching strategy for the market ramp-up of electric mobility. This includes promoting the electrification of all modes of transport (passenger cars, commercial vehicles, buses, and rail), as well as the development of charging infrastructure, research funding, and setting the right framework conditions, e.g., through the Electric Mobility Act.

More Electric Cars than Diesel Cars Registered for the First Time

According to the ministry, the goal of 1 million electric vehicles was achieved in the summer of 2021, although only by including plug-in hybrid vehicles. A further dynamic ramp-up has been observed since mid-2020. In December 2021, there was a new registration high, with more than 48,000 purely electric passenger cars registered in Germany, the BMDV's interim report shows. This accounts for more than 20 percent of new registrations, surpassing those of diesel vehicles. By the end of last year, the total number of electric passenger cars was around 1.23 million. The total number of all electric vehicles, including commercial vehicles and buses, was approximately 1.3 million by the end of 2021, according to the ministry.

Funding Directive Launched in 2015

To make the transport sector more sustainable and energy-efficient, the BMDV launched the Electric Mobility Funding Directive in 2015, according to the ministry. The directive promotes battery-electric applications in three areas: municipal and commercial electric mobility concepts, application-oriented research and development projects, and the procurement of battery-electric vehicles for municipal and commercial fleets. So far, there have been 18 calls and over 1,000 projects implemented with a funding volume of 386 million euros.

Commercial Fleets Integrated Since December 2020

The funding for commercial fleets was newly included as part of the revised BMDV Electric Mobility Funding Directive in December 2020. The goal is to better capture the synergies of fleet applications at the municipal level and to reach as broad a user base as possible with the funding. Companies could achieve a funding rate of 40 to 60 percent, while for the municipal sector, a funding rate of up to 90 percent was possible. Another call for funding electric vehicles and charging infrastructure is planned for 2022. The funding directive is set to run until 2025.