Rebates for EV customers

German car-buyers are being given a major financial incentive to purchase electric vehicles. Transport minister Alexander Dobrindt has announced a scheme worth around $1.65bn, which includes a rebate for an EV purchaser of around $6,600. Buyers of plug-in hybrid vehicles will receive a discount of around $4,960. The deal has been agreed with Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW, with half of the cost being paid for by the industry. Chancellor Angela Merkel has set a target of bringing one million EVs onto their roads by the end of the decade. Finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is optimistic the plan will work. "With this, I believe we will be able to give a boost to quickly move the number of vehicles (sales) to a considerable level." However, this plan looks somewhat ambitious with only around 50,000 EVs currently on the roads. New Zealand transport minister Simon Bridges is still to announce an electric vehicle policy for New Zealand.