Federal cabinet adopts government programme for electric mobility
Joint press release by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development
The Federal cabinet adopted a government programme for electric mobility today. It is the Federal government's response to the recommendations made in the second report of the National Platform for Electric Mobility (NPE), which was presented to Chancellor Merkel on 16 May 2011. The government programme sets the policy framework for the development of electric mobility in the coming years.
Federal Minister of Economics and Technology Dr. Philipp Rösler stated: "Electric mobility is very high on our policy agenda. The new government programme coordinates our activities in this field for the coming years. One thing is clear: The government is providing the policy environment while industry is responsible for the development of electric mobility. After all, competition is still the best driver of innovation."
In its work, the Federal government places much emphasis on research and development. It is therefore doubling its efforts in this field and has made an additional one billion euros available for the remaining legislative period. To coordinate all research activities, the Federal government will establish a separate advice and information centre. The Federal government's activities in this regard are integrated in European and international processes.
Federal Minister Dr. Rösler: "There is still a lot to be done in the field of research and development. To make progress here, our government programme is geared towards coherent research work. To this end, we will set up an advice and information centre. It will particularly assist small and medium-sized enterprises in identifying appropriate funding programmes. It is also important for us to support international cooperation. This applies equally to strategic partnerships with other countries and to international cooperation in standardisation. The bilateral chambers of industry and commerce are already supporting Germany's strong export industry. In future, they will increasingly serve as a platform for business and government and cooperate with Germany Trade and Invest."
In addition to the ministries' traditional R&D measures, regional showcases and technical flagship projects will be two additional innovative instruments to create synergies.
Federal Minister of Transport Peter Ramsauer stated: "We are drawing on the positive experiences we have had in our model regions and want to build on them. Thanks to their size, the new showcases will allow us to draw conclusions on the tested electric vehicles' viability for general use. The showcases also help to raise the global visibility and awareness of the German industry's capabilities. We will launch an open call for bids for the showcases later this year. One of the selection criteria will be a robust local commitment - not least in financial terms - by the parties involved, i.e. the industry's ability to provide an adequate volume of resources and vehicles and the municipalities' willingness to create a new policy environment. Medium-sized enterprises often pursue very innovative approaches and should be adequately taken into account."
The envisaged measures also focus on the creation of an attractive regulatory framework that facilitates the emergence of a lead market for electric mobility in Germany.
Federal Minister Ramsauer: "Mobility must remain affordable - this is also true for electric mobility. In addition to research, development and demonstration, we therefore want to set incentives. This includes tax benefits for private and company electric cars and especially non-monetary user incentives - mainly in road traffic law. One example is special parking places for electric vehicles. To this end, we have already introduced a new traffic sign. Another incentive could be to lift access bans for electric vehicles in order to foster clean delivery traffic in the cities. We will examine the possibility of opening bus lanes or marking special or loading lanes for electric vehicles. To gather insight into possible conflicts of use, we want to introduce and test these incentives in the showcases. This will also help to minimise any impact on the local public transport system."
