The comparison covers Germany, France, the United Kingdom, China, the United States, India, and the European Union. The measures presented are not exhaustive but rather serve to provide a general overview. The aim is to present and classify various (including already completed) support measures and strategies. To evaluate their success, a qualitative analysis of market share development in connection with the support instruments used in the countries mentioned is also carried out.

Market incentive

The EU is currently considering standardizing purchase subsidies for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in order to introduce uniform EU-wide subsidies instead of national initiatives.

Charging infrastructure

The EU has so far provided €1.7 billion to set up 27,000 charging points for cars and trucks. As part of the Green Deal, the EU has set itself the target of setting up one million charging points by 2025 and three million by 2030.

Future of the combustion engine

According to current legislation, from 2035 onwards, only combustion engines that do not produce CO₂ emissions will be allowed to be newly registered throughout the EU. The EU is thus allowing the use of climate-neutral fuels on the premise that they are produced entirely from renewable energies. In a current discussion, however, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), for example, is calling for the regulation to be relaxed. Instead of a complete ban on new registrations of combustion engines, only 90 percent of CO₂ emissions are to be reduced by 2035, meaning that vehicles with combustion engines will still be allowed to be newly registered.

The EU introduced fleet limits for car manufacturers back in 2012. These limits do not apply to individual vehicles, but to the average CO₂ emissions of a manufacturer's entire new car fleet per calendar year. If this average value is exceeded, fines may be imposed. For example, Volkswagen had to pay a fine of over €100 million for failing to meet its CO₂ targets in 2020. The limits are to be gradually tightened until 2030, with the aim of reducing average CO₂ emissions to 43 grams per kilometer.

However, this regulation was relaxed in May 2025. For the years 2025, 2026, and 2027, CO₂ targets no longer have to be met annually. Average compliance over these years will now be assessed. This makes it possible for manufacturers to offset exceeding the limits in one year by falling below them in another year, thus avoiding possible fines.

Market incentive

The purchase subsidy for purely electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids (PHEV), which was introduced in 2016 to promote electric mobility, expired in December 2023. Until then, vehicles with a list price of less than €40,000 were subsidized with €4,500, while vehicles costing up to €65,000 received €3,000 in support. After the subsidy was discontinued, demand fell sharply, which is why renewed support under the new government is being discussed repeatedly. The coalition agreement mentions possible special depreciation allowances, exemption from motor vehicle tax until 2035, and a program for low- and middle-income households.

Since July 2025, higher price limits have applied to tax benefits for company cars. For purely electric vehicles that may also be used privately, the monetary benefit up to a gross list price of €100,000 is taxed at only 0.25 percent of the list price per month, instead of the usual one percent for combustion engine vehicles.

Battery electric vehicles are currently exempt from motor vehicle tax: all vehicles registered for the first time by December 31, 2030, are exempt from tax for ten years, but no later than the end of 2035. The federal government recently extended this regulation, postponing the originally planned expiry of the tax exemption by five years.

Charging infrastructure

In 2021, the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport announced a total of €500 million for the expansion of charging infrastructure. This funding was supposed to continue until 2025, but was terminated early in 2022. In 2024, the ministry provided a total of €150 million for the expansion of commercial charging infrastructure.

Furthermore, in 2024, the previous federal government decided to make charging stations mandatory for gas stations by 2028. This should result in up to 8,000 new charging points. However, it is unclear whether this project will be continued or modified under the new federal government. With the launch of the Germany Network, the federal government is investing around €1.9 billion in the construction of 9,000 fast charging points at around 1,000 locations. The project is scheduled for completion in 2026. According to the Federal Network Agency, Germany will have a total of just under 162,000 charging points in February 2025. With a fleet of around 1.65 million BEVs at the beginning of the year, this equates to 10.19 cars per charging station.

Future of the combustion engine

see EU targets

Market incentive

With its “bonus écologique” subsidy program, France is offering a purchase bonus for battery electric vehicles. In 2025, this purchase bonus will be €4,000 for the higher-income half of the population and €7,000 for the lower-income half. Eligible vehicles must have a purchase price of less than €47,000 and may not exceed a weight of 2.4 tons. In addition to the purchase subsidy, there is also a subsidy for low-income workers under certain conditions. The maximum subsidy amount is €150 per month. After very strong demand at the beginning of 2024, the project was paused and will be resumed on September 30, 2025.

There is also an exchange subsidy: anyone who has a combustion engine vehicle first registered before 2011 scrapped at a recognized car recycling facility and then purchases a new or used electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle can receive a subsidy of up to €5,000.

Another step toward climate-neutral mobility is the introduction and gradual tightening of a CO₂ tax on initial registration. This has applied since 2024 to cars emitting 118g CO₂ per kilometer or more. The highest penalty tax applies to vehicles that emit more than 194g CO₂ per kilometer and is up to €60,000. The corresponding amount is payable once when the vehicles are registered.

Charging infrastructure

In 2023, France announced a subsidy program for the expansion of public charging infrastructure by 2030. The goal is to install a total of 400,000 charging points by then. Subsidies totaling €330 million are available for this purpose. Among other things, the plan is to set up around 4,400 charging points. At the beginning of 2025, around 155,000 public charging points were already in operation. At the same time, around 1.2 million BEVs were registered, which corresponds to an average of 7.74 vehicles per charging point.

Future of the combustion engine

see EU targets

Market incentive

In the UK, subsidies for private fully electric vehicles were already discontinued in 2022. Since then, only battery-electric company cars have benefited from national tax advantages: they are subject to a greatly reduced tax rate of only two percent, while vehicles with combustion engines are taxed at up to 37 percent. To provide further incentives, the UK government allocated around €353 million in 2022 to support electric vans, taxis, and motorcycles.

In London, BEVs are currently completely exempt from the congestion charge. This is a city center toll that normally costs £15 per day. This regulation will remain in place until the end of 2025. Whether the exemption will then be completely abolished or replaced by discounts for BEVs has not yet been finally decided.

Since July 2025, vehicle manufacturers have been able to apply for subsidies, which are passed on to buyers in the form of discounts. The discounts range from £1,500 to £3,750 and are based on the sustainability of vehicle production. Only models with a purchase price of less than £37,000 are eligible. The program is currently planned to run until 2027 or, alternatively, until the £650 million provided has been fully utilized.

Charging infrastructure

The UK plans to expand its network to at least 300,000 public charging points by 2030. The government is providing €235 million in funding to achieve this goal. With a fleet of around 1.3 BEVs, approximately 73,000 charging points had already been installed by early 2025, corresponding to a ratio of around 17.8 vehicles per charging point. According to forecasts, the vehicle fleet is expected to grow to six to eight million BEVs by 2030, which, with 300,000 charging stations, would correspond to a ratio of around 20 vehicles per charging point.

In July 2025, additional funding of €74 million was approved. The funding volume is divided into two parts: on the one hand, the expansion of private charging infrastructure is being supported, and on the other hand, companies are receiving funds to equip their locations with appropriate charging infrastructure.

Future of the combustion engine

In the UK, a ban on new registrations of vehicles with conventional combustion engines from 2035 was decided in 2020. Between 2023 and 2024, this planned restriction was adjusted several times. Since 2024, the ban has been set to come into force in 2030, while hybrid vehicles may still be sold until 2035.

Market incentive

China is focusing on tax breaks for battery electric vehicles. Measures were already introduced in 2014, initially allowing a tax reduction of up to ten percent of the purchase price. However, since 2024, a cap of €3,800 has been in place, which is set to be halved to €1,900 from 2026. A total of around €66 billion has been earmarked for these tax breaks between 2024 and 2027.

Between 2009 and 2022, purchase premiums were also available in addition to tax incentives. However, these only applied to domestically produced vehicles. The amount of the incentive was based on the electric range: in 2021, BEVs with a range of 300 to 400 kilometers were subsidized with around €1,653, while models with a range of more than 400 kilometers received a subsidy of €2,289. From 2026, stricter efficiency regulations will apply to the subsidisation of BEVs.

Charging infrastructure

China is well positioned in charging infrastructure and has large-scale subsidy programs in place. At the end of 2024, the country had around 3.6 million public charging stations – an increase of 49 percent compared to the previous year. With around 22 million battery electric vehicles in 2024, this resulted in a ratio of 6.11 vehicles per public charging station. In addition to the charging points, there are 4,200 battery replacement stations. 

Given the rapidly growing number of battery electric vehicles, the question arises as to whether China will continue to have sufficient charging infrastructure in the future. Various subsidy programs at both the national and regional levels are driving the expansion of the network. In addition to public charging points, the focus is increasingly shifting to equipping residential buildings and workplaces. Since 2022, all new buildings must be equipped with charging infrastructure. In addition, the government is specifically promoting the expansion of fast-charging facilities. Around 100,000 new fast-charging stations are to be built by 2027.

Future of the combustion engine

China has set itself a “dual carbon target.” The aim is to peak CO₂ emissions before 2030 and achieve CO₂ neutrality before 2060. To achieve these goals, China intends to further develop the combustion engine. In the future, however, these engines will only be operated in combination with alternative fuels such as hydrogen, ammonia, or synthetic fuels.

Market incentive

Since 2009, there has been a tax break for battery electric vehicles in the USA. Until 2022, this tax break applied exclusively to manufacturers with sales of less than 200,000 vehicles per year in the USA. The restriction was lifted with the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act. Since then, buyers of new cars have been able to claim a tax credit of up to $7,500, while a reduction of up to $4,000 was possible for used cars. In addition, there was a tax break of up to $1,000 for the installation of charging stations. However, these tax breaks are subject to certain conditions. The vehicle must be assembled in North America, and at least 40 percent of the battery materials used (including nickel, lithium, and graphite, for example) must come from the US or countries with a free trade agreement. This qualifies for the first $3,750. The remaining $3,750 can be paid out if at least 50 percent of the battery components (including electrodes, separators, and modules) also originate from the US or a partner country with a free trade agreement.

These requirements were to be gradually tightened by 2030. The US's goal was to strengthen its own battery industry and reduce its dependence on imports. Just a few days after taking office, President Donald Trump temporarily suspended the subsidies provided for in the Inflation Reduction Act. However, according to the New York Times, a federal judge ruled in early March 2025 that the suspension was unlawful in 23 states. Since July 2025, it has been known that tax credits could only be applied for until September 30, 2025, after which they would be discontinued without replacement.

Charging infrastructure

In 2020, there were around 96,500 public charging points in the US. By early 2025, this number had risen to 206,000. This development is primarily due to extensive government subsidy programs. As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the US government allocated a total of $7.5 billion for the expansion of charging infrastructure between 2022 and 2026.

The new administration under Donald Trump initially suspended the subsidy in February 2025, but reinstated it at the beginning of August 2025. However, 8,000 charging points operated by the General Services Administration are to be taken off the grid. In 2024, the number of BEVs stood at around 1.51 million vehicles, which means that there was one public charging station for every 7.33 vehicles.

Future of the combustion engine

Under the Biden administration, new fleet emission targets and specific quotas for new battery electric vehicle registrations by 2030 were introduced in 2024. However, these regulations were repealed under the Trump administration.

Some states, including California and New York, are nevertheless sticking to their own climate targets and plan to ban the sale of new vehicles with combustion engines from 2035. California has already received approval for this from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In May 2025, however, the House of Representatives voted to repeal California's combustion engine ban. Whether the House of Representatives actually has the legal authority to overturn such a regulation is currently being reviewed in court.

Market incentive

Since the end of 2024, electric two- and three-wheelers have been eligible for government subsidies in India. The program is initially limited to two years and has a total volume of €1.3 billion. This will subsidize around 2.5 million two-wheelers and 316,000 three-wheelers. Passenger cars are excluded from the subsidy, but the subsidy amount includes 14,000 battery-powered electric buses.

A look at the registration figures illustrates the prioritization: In 2023, a total of around 18.66 million two- and three-wheelers were sold in India, while sales of passenger cars stood at around 4.2 million.

Charging infrastructure

India plans to build a total of 88,500 new charging stations. Of these, around 22,100 will be DC charging stations for BEVs and 48,400 for two- and three-wheelers. In addition, there will be 1,800 new charging stations for electric buses. The total funding volume is €222 million. This means that the funding volume appears comparatively low in relation to the planned charging points. Against the backdrop of the sometimes sharp rise in market shares for two- and three-wheelers, there is also a risk that the funds earmarked will not be sufficient in the long term to meet the growing demand for charging infrastructure, even if the requirements are different from those for battery electric vehicles (e.g., more exchange systems or charging at home).

Future of the combustion engine

From 2030, conventional combustion engine vehicles will no longer be registered in India. In the capital New Delhi, a refueling ban for vehicles older than 15 years came into force on April 1, 2025. The aim of this measure is to encourage affected vehicle owners to switch to public transport. To support this transition, the city plans to introduce a total of 11,000 new buses by 2026, including 8,000 electric buses.

The following table provides an overview of the areas in which individual countries are taking targeted measures. It takes into account not only the amount of the respective subsidy, but also the need for it. Based on the development of market shares in conjunction with the subsidy measures, a qualitative assessment was made of how effective these instruments are.

The current reduction in tax advantages in China can therefore continue to be seen as a targeted and appropriate measure, as market shares there are already growing steadily and no slump is expected because of the reduction. In contrast, it is evident in European countries that support instruments, for example in market incentives or charging infrastructure, continue to play an important role. Here, the elimination of subsidies can quickly lead to a slowdown in market growth.

Impact of purchase subsidies on market share in the countries under review

In Germany, the market share of BEVs in new registrations rose steadily from 6.7 percent in 2020. By 2023, the share had reached 18.4 percent. However, with the end of the purchase incentive for BEVs in December 2023, the following year saw a decline of around five percentage points to 13.5 percent. Many experts believe that the discontinuation of the purchase incentive had a major impact on this. Whether and how new purchase incentives can be reintroduced in a meaningful way is a recurring topic of discussion.

In France, too, the effects of government subsidies are clearly visible. There, BEV market share rose from 6.4 percent in 2020 to 16.9 percent in 2024, with subsidies remaining in place throughout this period. Between 2020 and 2023, the “bonus écologique” (ecological bonus), with a subsidy of up to €7,000 (and up to €12,000 in combination with the exchange bonus), led to annual growth of up to three percentage points. Growth slowed after the premium was reduced to €5,000 in 2023. New impetus could come from September 2025 onwards from the government-subsidized leasing program, which had already met with high demand in 2024.

The trend was similar in the UK. The BEV market share rose from 6.6 percent in 2020 to 19.6 percent in 2024. However, after the subsidy expired in 2022, the market initially stagnated, with a market share of 16.6 percent in 2022 and remaining virtually unchanged at 16.5 percent in 2023. Experts only expect stronger growth momentum again with the recently introduced, comprehensive purchase subsidy.

The picture is different in China. There, the market share of BEVs was already 15 percent in 2020 and reached around 27 percent in 2024, even though the direct purchase subsidy only existed until 2022 (although there are still noticeable tax advantages). A share of 30 percent is even forecast for 2025. It is noteworthy that growth continued unabated even after the purchase subsidy ended. Similarly, the reduction in tax breaks did not lead to a slowdown in market growth. This suggests that the BEV market has consolidated sustainably and that future reductions in tax advantages are not expected to cause a fundamental reversal of the trend. However, one reason for this is the cost parity between battery electric cars and combustion engine vehicles in China.

In the US, the EV-market grew at a modest pace. Despite subsidies that had been in place since 2009 and were discontinued in September 2025, the market share of BEVs was only around two percent in 2020 and reached just under ten percent in 2024. In the second quarter of 2025, there was even a slight decline compared to the previous year. It remains to be seen how market shares will develop after the tax breaks expire in September 2025. Although the subsidy amount of US$7,500 was high, there was only a slight increase in registration numbers compared to other countries.

A direct comparison with other countries is only of limited use for India, as electrification there is heavily concentrated on two- and three-wheelers. While electric two-wheelers achieved a market share of around five percent in 2023 (almost zero percent in 2020), the development of three-wheelers was even more dynamic. Their share rose from around 20 percent to over 50 percent in the same period. It is clear that the introduction of the first subsidy programs in 2019 contributed significantly to this growth. With the extension of the subsidy measures in 2022 and the start of a new round of subsidies in 2024, India provided additional impetus to further accelerate electrification in the future.

Conclusion on the effectiveness of subsidy programs in promoting the uptake of electric mobility

The market share figures shown indicate that the impact of policy instruments varies greatly from country to country. While some countries show a strong correlation between purchase subsidies and market share, other markets have achieved more stable growth that continues even without direct subsidies.

In India, market conditions have led to the targeted promotion of other forms of mobility (especially two- and three-wheelers). Among the countries considered, France is the only one that provides its own support measures for low-income households. Given the comparatively high purchase costs of battery electric vehicles and the fact that the subsidy quota was already exhausted after six weeks, the measures in France can be considered extremely effective and popular. Such a proposal is also repeatedly being discussed in Germany. Italy recently decided on an income-linked subsidy, which started in October 2025.

When comparing market incentives, it becomes clear that, despite a high purchase subsidy of up to US$7,500 from 2022 onwards, there will only be a slight increase in the number of BEV registrations, particularly in the US. This suggests that the purchase subsidy has less of an impact on demand than in other countries. In China, on the other hand, market share growth will continue even after the purchase subsidy ends in 2022. Similarly, the reduction in tax breaks in 2024 has not noticeably slowed development, suggesting that financial incentives have less of an impact on willingness to buy there than in other countries.

The data used comes from the research project BEMA On (funding 03XP0621A) funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.