German gov’t will give residents up to €6.000 to purchase EVs

The German government has announced that it will bring back subsidies to support residents buying an electric vehicle (EV). How much financial support is available, and to whom?

German gov’t relaunches EV subsidy

Low and middle-income earners in Germany who are considering buying an EV in 2026 are now eligible to receive up to 6.000 euros in government subsidies to support their purchase.

Households with an annual pre-tax income of up to 80.000 euros and households with two children and an annual pre-tax income of up to 90.000 euros are eligible to apply for the subsidy. The subsidy allowances range from 3.000 to 6.000 euros per household.

The portion of the subsidy that eligible households can claim depends on the household’s specific circumstances. For example, a larger portion will be granted to families with children and low-income families with multiple children will be able to claim the full 6.000 euro subsidy.

Residents can also claim the subsidy to support their purchase of a plug-in hybrid EV, which runs on electricity and fuel. However, a subsidy of only 1.500 euros per household is available to support these purchases.

According to a November 2025 report by ADAC, the cheapest EV currently available in Germany costs 16.900 euros. Around a dozen models on the German market cost under 30.000 euros.

Residents can use subsidy to buy Chinese EVs

Between 2016 and 2023, Germany’s previous EV subsidy scheme paid out around 10 billion euros in financial support, but was abruptly ended due to budget constraints.

When the current CDU/CSU-SPD government entered office in May 2025, the coalition earmarked three billion euros to subsidise EV purchases. Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) expects the subsidy programme to help residents buy around 80.000 EVs over the coming three to four years.

Schneider said the programme should "protect the climate and [allow Germany] to be less dependent on the power games of the oil states and fluctuating fuel prices” and added that there were “really cool cars on the market from German manufacturers".

In recent years German car manufacturers have been losing EV sales to manufacturers in China and the United States. The government has said that eligible residents will also be allowed to use the subsidy to purchase EVs from Chinese manufacturers. "We will rise to the challenge of the competition and are not imposing limits in that regard," Schneider said at a press conference.

According to the minister, most German consumers are opting for European EVs: 80 percent of the EVs and plug-in hybrids newly registered in Germany in 2025 were made in Europe. EVs from the VW Group and BMW are among the most popular.

Greenpeace say German EV subsidy is “misguided”

While the German government hopes its new subsidy will protect the climate, Greenpeace and other NGOs say the policy's limitations should be reconsidered.

The Transport & Environment NGO said that the new subsidy policy “doesn’t fit the population or the climate,” that income thresholds are too high and that residents should be allowed to use the subsidy to purchase used cars.

Greenpeace added that the current policy was “promoting bulky SUVs and climate-damaging plug-in hybrids is misguided, both socially and in terms of climate policy.” Speaking at the press conference, Schneider had explained that including plug-in hybrids in the scheme had been a compromise to protect jobs at threat in the car industry.