German auto industry calls for incentives to boost green car demand

(EurActiv, 17 Apr 2020) Germany’s auto industry association VDA on Thursday (16 April) joined a chorus of demands from auto industry executives and politicians calling for more incentives to revive demand for low emission vehicles in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Measures to curb the movement of people, imposed to contain the spread of the virus, have hit car sales hard, leading Germany’s Volkswagen on Thursday to abandon its full year outlook and issue a profit warning.

As Germany prepares to ease lockdown measures which will allow car dealerships to reopen, lobby group VDA said demand needed a boost.

“There is currently no reason for optimism. It is likely that economic support measures will be necessary in order to revive overall economic demand and, in particular, the demand for vehicles,” VDA president Hildegard Mueller said in a statement.

How such incentives should be structured and funded depend on how well demand rebounds after Germany loosens lockdown measures, Mueller said.

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EurActiv, 17 Apr 2020: German auto industry calls for incentives to boost green car demand