The European Commission has approved a €4.6 billion grant payment request from Germany under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), with measures aimed at accelerating electric vehicle adoption and expanding charging infrastructure, the Commission said.
The funding forms part of the European Union’s €750 billion NextGenerationEU recovery programme, launched in 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Germany is allocated €30.3 billion under its national Recovery and Resilience Plan (DARP), of which €24.4 billion—around 80%—will have been accessed if the latest payment is finalised.
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The Commission said the latest tranche includes support for the purchase of nearly 400,000 electric vehicles and the installation of more than 2,500 public charging points. It added that these measures would bring the total number of subsidised vehicles under Germany’s plan to close to one million.
The disbursement is not yet окончатель, with the Commission forwarding its preliminary assessment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) of the Council. The committee has four weeks to deliver its opinion before a final payment decision is adopted.
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Beyond electromobility, the funding package also includes measures to support the energy-efficient refurbishment of more than 155,000 buildings, reflecting the programme’s broader focus on climate action and digital transformation.
Details of the EV subsidy scheme referenced by the Commission have not been fully clarified. The funding is widely expected to relate to a planned German incentive programme targeting low- and middle-income households, which the government has previously indicated would be financed through its Climate and Transformation Fund.
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The scheme is expected to support battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and range-extended electric models, with eligibility linked to household taxable income and additional allowances for children. It is also expected to apply retroactively to new vehicle registrations from Jan. 1, 2026.
Under the RRF framework, member states must meet agreed milestones and targets by Aug. 31, 2026, with final payment requests due by the end of September 2026, as the facility approaches its scheduled conclusion.
The latest approval underscores the EU’s continued focus on using recovery funds to accelerate the transition to low-emission mobility and energy efficiency across member states.