With long delivery times, customers could collect less or no purchase premium.
Cologne If you want to try out e-mobility first, you are more than welcome to choose a leasing vehicle. However, there are currently some pitfalls that not every provider clearly communicates, as samples on the Internet show. Interested parties should above all keep an eye on the delivery times. The leasing conditions are currently comparatively favorable because the special payment at the beginning of the contract is offset against the environmental bonus.
But whether and how much money the lessee can expect depends primarily on the time of approval. And this is often a long time coming, because delivery times are often a year or more. In these cases there is significantly less money than is currently shown in many dealer advertisements. If you search the relevant brokerage platforms, you will often find offers that calculate with the current environmental bonus, but at the same time only promise delivery for the coming year.
The responsibility for applying for the bonus is assigned to the customer in the small print. This is by no means unusual. However, there is usually no indication that the subsidy might not work. The customer could therefore be surprised later and annoyed about financial losses.
Because the bonus will drop in the coming months. There has been less money since the beginning of this year: In 2022, including the VAT advantage, there was still a maximum of up to 9,570 euros in gross funding, it is currently a maximum of 7,177 euros. At least as long as the net list price is less than 40,000 euros (gross: 47,600 euros). If it is between 40,000 and 65,000 euros (gross: 77,350 euros), it is only 4,785 euros. The state does not subsidize models that are even more expensive.
Total budget for electric cars is limited
For commercial customers, however, the remaining subsidies will also cease to apply as of September 1st. Then only private individuals can apply for funding. For these, in turn, December 31st is an important deadline. Because from January 1, 2024, there will only be money for cars with a net list price of up to 45,000 euros (gross: 54,550 euros). As things currently stand, only around half of all available e-models and model variants will then be eligible for funding. Above all, the larger and more powerful versions of popular electric cars and models from premium manufacturers then fall out of the grid. For the remaining cars there is then 4,785 euros gross from the state and manufacturer.
And yet another pitfall could cost buyers money: The total budget for the federal subsidy for the premium is now limited. Up to 2.1 billion euros are available for 2023, in 2024 it will only be 1.3 billion. If the pot is empty, there is no money.
If you want to be sure of the premium, you should therefore choose an electric car that is available quickly. For many popular models, however, the delivery times are still around one year. In individual cases, customers even had to be patient for 18 months or more. According to expert estimates, the supply situation should tend to ease in the coming weeks and months, but it is difficult to make precise forecasts.
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