BAFA funding - launched by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (the Bundesamt für Wirtschaft und Ausfuhrkontrolle, commonly shortened to BAFA) - provides additional funding for the Zukunftstaxi project. BAFA is a federal authority within the the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (the Geschäftsbereich des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Energie, commonly shortened to BMWi). The project, officially titled Promoting Electric Vehicles (Förderung von elektrisch betriebenen Fahrzeugen), is perhaps better known as the 'Environmental Bonus'. At the beginning, it was planned that vehicle manufacturers and the federal government would equally support the purchase of an e-vehicle or a car with a plug-in hybrid drive. However, in the meantime, the federal government has also added the so-called 'innovation bonus' (Innovationsprämie), which essentially doubles the federal share. For the taxi operator, this means a total price reduction of up to €9,000. In addition, the purchase of a newer used electric vehicle is not excluded from the subsidy.
Whether the funding amount of €9,000 is paid out in full depends on the net list price of the battery electric vehicle (BEV). If this is less than €40,000, the full amount can be taken off. This is calculated as follows. The share of the federal government and the manufacturer is €3,000 each. In addition, the federal government has doubled its share with the innovation bonus, which makes for a total of €6,000.
If the new price of the vehicle is over €40,000 net, the shares are €2,500. These vehicles then benefit from a total of €7,500 in subsidies. If the net list price of the basic model is over €65,000, the purchase cannot be funded. The federal government also strongly supports the purchase of plug-in hybrids (PHEV), i.e. cars that cover a precisely defined distance purely electrically and can be charged externally. The prerequisite here is a maximum CO₂ emission of 50 grams per kilometre. As a reminder: the Zukunftstaxi project only subsidises hybrid electric vehicles that emit a maximum of 25g CO₂/km, have a purely electrical minimum range of at least 100 km and are demonstrably suitable for transporting people sitting in wheelchairs.
Here you will find an overview of the eligible vehicles (German).
The BAFA website provides information on exactly which vehicles are subsidised. There is a constantly updated list of eligible emission-free vehicles, for example with fuel cell drives and pure battery-powered electric vehicles.
Direct link to the application form (German).
The federal government supports the purchase of used e-taxis as well as leased vehicles. The total of the funding is based on the net purchase price of the vehicle and the duration of the leasing. The length of the minimum holding period is also linked to this. The application must be submitted no later than one year after purchasing the vehicle and is only possible online.
You can find all information on how to apply on the BAFA pamphlet (German).
The person entitled to apply must, among other things, submit a copy of the invoice as well as proof of registration (vehicle license document (Fahrzeugschein) and vehicle title document (Fahrzeugbrief)) and a confirmation of the truthful information. The deadline for submitting the complete documents is one month after receipt of the application by BAFA.
