The gap to combustion engines is shrinking, says industry expert Dudenhöffer.

Discounts on electric cars are increasing: According to an analysis by industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, they averaged 16.7 percent in April – 1.8 percentage points higher than the previous month. Since January, discounts have even increased by three percentage points. For a typical model, that amounts to well over €1,000.

"As of April, the barrier to higher discounts on electric cars has fallen," says Dudenhöffer, who examined online prices for the 20 most popular all-electric vehicles in Germany. He expects discounts to continue to rise in the coming months.

One reason for this is the EU's CO2 emissions targets, which are to be met, among other things, through increased sales of electric cars; another is the changes in the distribution system of some brands. As a result, "sometimes substantial discounts and sales promotion programs via dealers" are now being used to counter weak demand. Manufacturers have a strong interest in "getting the market moving."

According to Dudenhöffer, discounts for cars with combustion engines and plug-in hybrids decreased slightly in April. Although they have increased since January, they increased much more slowly than for pure electric vehicles. As a result, the price difference compared to combustion engines has decreased significantly and is now at its lowest level since the end of the government's environmental bonus.

Overall, the industry expert now sees electromobility “on the verge of a new upswing, driven by more attractive prices.”

New registrations of electric cars in Germany had already increased significantly in the first three months of this year. A year earlier, they had plummeted following the end of government subsidies. German manufacturers, in particular, had performed strongly recently.