Berlin (AFP)

Germany is on the verge of reaching its target of a fleet of one million electric cars, thanks to the sales boom boosted by purchasing aid, the German minister for the economy said on Friday. Economy Peter Altmaier.

"We will reach in July 2021 our target of one million electric cars", declared the minister in an interview with the newspaper "Tagesspiegel"

This goal, set by Angela Merkel's government in 2009, and which many considered "unattainable", will therefore be reached with "only six months late", he said.

The generous public subsidies for the purchase have led to a surge in sales in this category which includes both electric and plug-in hybrid cars: in the first half of 2021, a total of 1.25 billion euros of subsidy requests were registered. , more than the whole of last year, according to Mr. Altmaier.

The purchase premium has been considerably increased as part of the post-pandemic stimulus measures: for electric vehicles with a net list price of less than 40,000 euros, the maximum aid is now 9,000 euros, for hybrids, it is 6,750 euros.

Monthly sales of purely electric cars have more than doubled since the start of the year compared to 2020, and represented on average 10% of the market.

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The demand for this type of vehicle has also been stimulated by innovations from traditional manufacturers, whose offer is undergoing rapid change with the launch, actual or planned, of many electrified models.

The charging infrastructure has grown.

According to the Ministry of Transport, there are currently 37,705 standard charging points and 6,395 fast charging points in Germany.

Mr Altmaier estimated that the next step of seven to ten million electric cars on German roads by 2030 may even be passed.

The symbolic threshold of one million electric cars is to be reduced to the 48.2 million private vehicles in circulation on January 1, 2021 in the largest European economy, of which the automotive industry is a pillar.

In the race for electric mobility initiated by European countries, the production of battery cells will be crucial.

Peter Altmaier expects this sector to create "nearly 20,000 jobs by the end of the decade" in Germany.

© 2021 AFP