German Government gives away free electric cars

They say the best things in life are free, and if you’re a fan of electric cars and are a German citizen, you can get your hands on a brand-new Renault Zoe without having to pay a penny thanks to generous Government incentives.

In order to encourage people into cleaner cars, and stimulate the economy, the German government currently gives buyers €6,000 off the price of a new EV. And unlike the £3,000 UK Plug-in Car Grant, which is deducted from the list price, Germany consumers can spread their more generous grant across monthly leasing repayments.

One dealer group in Germany, Autohaus Koenig, which has over 50 showrooms across the country, is now advertising a brand-new Renault Zoe on a two-year lease, for a total cost of €6,000 over the period of the contract, with the monthly bills being met entirely by German taxpayers. Autohaus Koenig has had around 150 enquiries a day since introducing the offer, according to BloombergNEF, which reported the story originally.

“If we had more sales staff, we would have sold even more,” Wolfgang Huber from Autohaus Koenig said in a Facebook post for his company. “We did expect an increase in sales with the subsidies, but this run really struck us.”

The news of taxpayer-funded EVs in Germany may stick in the craw of UK manufacturers and dealer groups, who have long lobbied the UK Treasury for an expansion of subsidies for new cars in the wake of coronavirus. This was officially ruled out at the end of last month by a UK Government spokesman, however, despite the new-car market being down by over a third in June, even after English dealerships opened at the start of the month.

Take a look at the cheapest electric cars in the UK here (none are free)...