LETTERS: As the world continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, industries are beginning to prepare for a recession. In March last year, vehicle sales in Germany fell 37.7 per cent, but the new electric vehicle (EV) market grew 33.3 per cent.
With the growth in EV markets and the new budgets, Germany seeks to double that goal, and the prospect looks promising. Its finance minister, Olaf Scholz, said the aim was to bring the country out of an economic crisis with an exploding German EV market.
During the introduction of the new Climate Plan at the end of last year, Centre for Automotive Research director Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer had estimated that five million pure electric and hybrid EV registrations by 2030 would be a feasible goal. EV incentives have been extended or added to achieve this.
A large slice of Germany's €130 billion post-Covid-19 package will be set aside for EV infrastructure development, tax cuts and subsidies to invigorate the country's EV market.
It means that current and prospective drivers can enjoy grants, tax incentives and other benefits when purchasing an EV or charger in Germany. The main incentives are:
First, EV Incentives, National EV Incentives and Local and Regional EV Incentives, and;
Second, EV Charging Incentives in Germany — National Private EV Charging Incentives; National Public EV Charging Incentives and Local and Regional EV Charging Incentives.
Under the government's electrification initiatives and policies, the National EV Incentives offer subsidies. These fall under the environmental bonus category, which offers grants for the purchase or lease of EVs.
The following incentives would apply from July 2020 until December 2025 as part of the new economic stimulus package involving vehicles priced up to RM200,000, whether fully electric (RM45,000) or plug-in hybrid (RM33,750).
Incentives are also given for vehicles priced up to RM325,000 whether fully electric (RM37,500) and plug-in hybrid (RM28,125).
As for the National Public EV Charging Incentives, the German government aims to have a million charging stations by 2030. To achieve this, its Federal Transport and Digital Infrastructure Ministry has introduced an incentive programme to encourage the rollout of public charging stations.
Up to €12,000 will be given for people buying DC chargers up to 100kW; €30,000 for those purchasing DC chargers above 100 kW; €5,000 for low voltage and up to €50,000 for medium voltage grid connections.
Many other incentives, such as tax rebates and incentives, are also offered by German states on top of the federal government's incentives. China, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and most industrial nations offer similar incentives to EV buyers, charging companies and manufacturers to spur the EV industry's growth in their respective countries.
In Malaysia, the government seeks to increase EV utilisation via only tax exemptions. There is a lack of a comprehensive plan for building Malaysia's EV infrastructure to support EV users. Neighbouring countries Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand are building up complete EV infrastructures.
And, there was no mention of incentives or subsidies for Malaysian-made EVs, which can encourage local companies to invest in its manufacturing. Have we given up on the new national car project that is supposed to produce EVs?
Dr Amalina Amir
Head of Innovative Electromobility Research Lab, School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Mara
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times