The 3R’s for Germany’s Mobility Transition

The past months have been a rollercoaster in politics. Sometimes it’s not easy to see the bigger picture amongst all the daily news. The last weeks have been different and good though. They show that the new German government is taking fast action on their election campaign’s promises.

Germany’s new Minister of Finance, Lars Klingbeil , announced a new investment booster plan. This includes tax benefits around new investments for German companies, tax cuts and new incentives to push e-mobility. The latter would include tax deductions of up to 75% on a new company EV’s (cars, trucks and buses) price. Until the end of 2026, German companies are looking at tax reductions of around €10.6bn according to the plans.

We have seen plans and announcements in the past. Some of them sounded very good. Some of them seemed to be random and had negative effects. Business needs reliability. Any surprises, any sudden changes in legislation are not good for the economy.

These 3 R’s describe what we need:

Reliability – we know we need to move away from combustion-powered cars, that we need a modular mobility concept, and that this needs investments, digitization and electrification across the country. Let’s stick to that vision and act accordingly.

Rules – we need a clear legislative framework, clear game rules: non-discriminatory pricing structures that comply with the requirements of the AFIR. And these rules need to be enforced. The federal government needs to ensure charging based on price transparency, fairness, and genuine freedom of choice.

Reduction – we need to shorten the times to receive permits to build our infrastructure, we need to simplify the rules around new investments like in (bi-directional) charging and building attractive new electric models.

Let’s use the current legislative period to work together with policymakers, businesses and society to release the brakes and fully realize the potential of e-mobility. This bold step into the future will not only help us achieve our climate goals but also secure our country’s economic strength and innovative power in the long term.