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Germany is bringing back state support for electric cars from January 2026, unveiling a €4 billion (£3.4bn) programme designed to push buyers toward lower-cost EVs — and, unusually, to include used electric cars as well.

The scheme will pay up to €4,000 (£3,400) towards the purchase of a new or used electric vehicle whose net list price is below €45,000 (£38,250). In a clear push for full-battery electrics, plug-in hybrids are excluded; only cars with WLTP-certified CO₂ emissions below 50 g/km will qualify.

Officials say the new plan is deliberately targeted and lessons have been learned from the last subsidy round, which critics argued disproportionately helped premium marques. This time eligibility will be restricted by income caps — households earning more than €45,000 a year will be sidelined — and the price ceiling steers support towards mass-market models such as smaller Volkswagen and Renault offerings rather than luxury EVs.

Including used EVs is a headline change: ministers hope the move will broaden access to affordable electric transport and could become a model other European countries copy. The scheme is also clearly aimed at protecting regional manufacturing, favouring vehicles that are cheaper to buy and therefore more relevant to ordinary consumers.

Funding will be drawn from Germany’s Climate and Transformation Fund and the EU Climate Social Fund, with the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control handling applications and paying the grant after registration.

The announcement echoes recent UK policy moves to boost uptake of lower-priced EVs and underlines a growing European focus on making the switch to electric vehicles more affordable — especially for middle-income households — while steering public cash away from high-end, high-emissions models.

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