The problem for European car makers is that, under EU regulations, they will need to sell ever higher numbers of EVs in 2025 to stick to their corporate average emissions levels
The carrot has, until now, been the electric car purchase grant. Designed to offset the higher purchase cost of an EV, the grants – both in the form of an actual grant from the, and a rebate on vehicle registration tax of up to €5,000 – have made new electric cars much more affordable than they otherwise would have been.
Are we approaching electric car incentives from the wrong angle, though? It seems simple enough that reducing the price of new EVs through government largesse should stimulate sales, but perhaps there’s another way. In fact, perhaps we should just do it in reverse. Hedrich does at least have some good news for those staring at plunging used EV values – he thinks that the market has started to stabilise, and has hopefully bottomed out. The values also depend in no small measure on the car and its battery as originally sold.