Gas stations in Germany will need to charge electric vehicles as part of the country’s 130 billion euro coronavirus stimulus package, Reuters reports. In addition, the government is also increasing its subsidy for electric vehicles by € 3,000 to € 6,000 for cars that cost less than € 40,000. Combined, these measures could be a major boost for electric car adoption in a country where most of the world’s largest automakers are based. Electric vehicles are currently relatively rare in the country. According to Reuters, less than 2 percent of the cars sold in Germany last year were electric, compared with 32 percent for diesel cars and 59.2 percent for gasoline. A key limiting factor for adoption is range anxiety, with customers worrying about not being able to recharge if their vehicle runs out of power while on the road. The new law is an attempt to change this. German automakers are investing heavily in electric vehicles. Despite the increase, research suggests that Germany may need even more chargers for electric cars to go fully mainstream. Reuters notes that the country has 14,118 service stations, but one report suggests that it will need around 70,000 charging stations and 7,000 fast chargers to achieve mass market adoption. The country had 27,730 electric car charging stations as of March 2020, still a welcome step for a country where auto giants such as VW, BMW and Daimler are headquartered. Many of these established automakers are now investing heavily in electric vehicles after the Dieselgate scandal seriously undermined their green credentials. Electric carmaker Tesla is also in the process of establishing its first European Gigafactory in the country at a site near Berlin. Germany is not the only country announcing measures to increase adoption of electric vehicles this week. Yesterday France announced a subsidy of up to € 12,000 when they buy an electric car, Time reports.
