Tag: Germany

Elon Musk Says German Gigafactory Will “Hopefully” Produce First Vehicles In October

Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, told media he hopes the company’s German gigafactory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, will open in October during a tour of the plant that is still under construction.

“We’re looking forward to hopefully getting the approval to make the first cars maybe in October if we are fortunate,” Musk said during the plant visit, which, Reuters reports, hosted Armin Laschet, the conservative candidate set to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor.

The factory was initially supposed to open in July 2021 but its opening was pushed back to late 2021, with some reports claiming that production wouldn’t start until January 2022. Musk publicly blamed German bureaucracy for the delays and has apparently found a kindred spirit in Laschet, who has been critical of the German government’s red tape.

Read Also: German Labor Authorities Probe Working Conditions At Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory

“Sometimes one has the impression that inventing something new is technologically easier than dismantling bureaucracy in Germany,” Laschet said during the tour.

The factory has been investigated several times for its construction practices. In May, German labor authorities investigated the site for allegedly paying construction crews less than the national minimum wage and housing them in cramped living quarters where cases of the coronavirus were able to spread.

In April, meanwhile, the site came under the Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment’s scrutiny for allegedly using illegal plumbing that diverted wastewater from the factory into the local drinking water supply. Reuters reports that the environmental agency has yet to give the site its final approvals, meaning that further delays are impossible to rule out.

Regardless, Musk was excited about the plant’s prospects, later tweeting out an invitation to the local community to visit the plant on October 9.

German EV Subsidies Sextuple In 2020 As More Buyers Embrace Electrification

Germany, whose automotive industry is going all-in on EVs, has had to pay out six-and-a-half times more in electrified vehicle subsidies than it did in 2019.

The government paid out more than 652 million Euros in subsidies this year. By comparison, it paid out just 98 million in 2019. According to Reuters, these figures were obtained by the Reinische Post from the Federal Office for Economics and Export Control.

The newspaper reports that buyers have applied for a subsidy for a total of 229,951 vehicles. Although that’s a sharp increase from 2019’s 73,081, it doesn’t account for the full rise in Germany’s payouts. Indeed, increased funding for tax breaks for electrified vehicles introduced in July helped the payouts reach their 2020 heights.

Although the credits doubtless played a role in a number of Germans’ decision to buy electrified vehicles, a slew of new EVs, such as the VW ID.3, that were launched this year probably helped, too.

Read Also: China To Lower Subsidies For More Expensive Electric Cars

Increases in hybrid adoption outpaced increases in EV adoption, though. While the number of applications for EV subsidies rose from 51,000 to 126,000 (increasing by 250%) the number for hybrids skyrocketed from 22,000 to 103,000 (nearly 470%).

The German government is more than happy about the increase on EVs and hybrids and is confident that the number of electrified vehicles being purchased will only increase in 2021. Indeed, the new breaks for buyers will go on until at least 2025. Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier said: “In 2020 we made a significant leap forward in electromobility in Germany. The main reason for this was the introduction of the innovation bonus in July, with which the federal government doubled its funding for the purchase of an electric car.”

Meanwhile, the demand for new hybrids and EVs is being recognized by the industry. Volkswagen, for one, just announced that it will be installing 750 new charging points around Germany in 2021.

“We need significantly more charging points in Germany and Europe if electric vehicles are to establish themselves quickly,” said VW’s head of e-mobility, Thomas Ulbrich. “For that reason, all players from the fields of politics and industry must continue their efforts in the coming year.”

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