Anyone who bought or leased a new electric car this year can claim between €1,500 and €6,000 from the state. The application portal has been open since 19 May, and the federal government has now republished its how-to guide. What counts is not the purchase date but the first registration, which must be on or after 1 January 2026.
Only private individuals qualify, only for new cars, and only if the car is registered to the applicant. Fully electric and fuel-cell cars receive a basic grant of €3,000. Plug-in hybrids and range extenders get €1,500, provided they emit no more than 60 grams of CO₂ per kilometre or can drive at least 80 kilometres on battery power.
Top-ups follow: €1,000 for taxable household income under €60,000, another €1,000 under €45,000, plus €500 per child for up to two children. That adds up to €6,000 for electric cars and €4,500 for hybrids. The government’s running text describes the second income tier ambiguously, but its table and the total only add up if the tiers stack — as other outlets also describe it.
Who gets nothing?
The ceiling is €80,000 of taxable income, rising by €5,000 per child to a maximum of €90,000. “Taxable” means after deductions but without the basic allowance, so gross pay is usually well above it. The two latest tax assessments of every earning household member are averaged and must be no more than three years old. If you only recently started working in Germany, check which assessments you actually have.
Applying in three steps
First, a BundID with verified identity. A username and password are not enough; you need the online ID-card function or an ELSTER certificate. Second, fill in the application on the “Förderzentrale Deutschland” portal, where vehicle data is checked automatically against the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA). Third, upload the tax assessments, proof of child benefit where relevant and, for plug-in hybrids, the EU certificate of conformity (CoC). BAFA answers questions on +49 6196 908-1009 or elektromobilitaet@bafa.bund.de.
You apply after registration, not when you sign the contract. If the dealer does not deduct the grant from the price, you have to pre-finance it. Electrive also warns that offers with the full €6,000 already priced in can mislead: the maximum applies only to low-income households with two children, and the legality of such pricing is “quite disputed”.
What is the catch?
The car must stay registered to the applicant for 36 months. The old Umweltbonus, which ended in 2023, required six. The €3bn budget to 2029 is meant to support about 800,000 vehicles — a little over €3,700 each on average. If registrations keep rising (about 224,000 new battery-electric cars from January to April, a 23.6% market share), we think the pot could run down faster than planned, so anyone already set on a new car should not wait too long.
Used cars are not covered — for many families on a tight budget, that is the biggest gap.
Sources: Federal government, web.de, electrive, Solarserver
