the future of mobility or still a slow-moving vehicle?
Which electric car should I buy?? There are now more and more choices.
Vehicles with internal combustion engines emits various pollutants, which not only damage the environment but also endanger people’s health. A clean alternative should be electric cars.
For this reason, the federal government has set itself the goal that one million e-cars to be on the road in germany by 2022. However, this figure is still a long way off: on 1. January 2019, according to data from the german Federal Motor Transport Authority, there were 53.861 electric cars registered.
Various measures are now being taken to ensure that the target is achieved after all. And existing and impending driving bans for diesel vehicles in German cities are also prompting more and more consumers to rethink their approach. Is it worth buying an electric car?? What you should think about in advance? Can you also buy used electric vehicles?? What range do e-cars have?? We answer these and other questions in the following guidebook.
FAQ: buying an electric car
Electric cars are more energy-efficient, quieter and require less maintenance. In addition, they emit no pollutants and generally cost less to run than a comparable combustion engine.
Especially for drivers who mainly travel short distances. Anyone who frequently travels hundreds of kilometers is currently better off with a diesel or gasoline engine.
The sog. environmental bonus was originally only to be paid until the end of 2020. However, the climate package for better climate protection adopted in September 2019 provides for an extension of the payment from 2021 onwards.
How does an electric car work?
around 98 percent of all cars registered in germany are powered by diesel or gasoline. The internal combustion engines works as follows: one mixture of fuel and air ignited in a cylinder and burns there. This creates pressure that getting the pistons moving. This is followed by a transmission to a shaft, which is connected to the wheels via the gearbox.
During the combustion of fuel However, pollutants are produced, which are released into the air via the exhaust pipe. Do you want to do something for the environment, you have the option of, to buy an electric car instead of a combustion engine. But how is such a vehicle actually powered??
In the motor electrical energy is converted into mechanical energy. If it is an alternating current motor, it works as follows: the so-called stator is an immovable magnet. This surrounds a rotor, which is rotatable because it is mounted on a shaft. Share the when electrical energy is applied, which has been stored in a battery. Does the electricity flow, a magnetic field is created and the rotor starts to rotate, since negative and positive charges attract each other, but the same charges repel each other.
With the movement would be however so after a half turn conclusion. For this reason, the rotor is supplied with alternating current. This means that the The polarity of the current changes at regular intervals. This keeps the rotor still in motion. This rotary motion is used to drive the vehicle.
This is something you should think about before buying
Emission-free thanks to electric drive: buying a car that doesn’t have an internal combustion engine is good for the environment.
Whether you want to buy a diesel, a gasoline or an electric car, the purchase of a vehicle usually involves a major investment. For this reason you should think carefully about which vehicle suits you best and how much money it may cost. Before you decide on an electric car, it is advisable to first look at understand the advantages and disadvantages of an electric car.
Advantages of buying an electric car: quiet and emission-free
Buying e-vehicles has many advantages. Since no fuel is burned while driving, the car can travel no CO2 emitted. This makes the vehicles particularly environmentally friendly in operation. Furthermore, an electric motor is particularly energy-efficient. The ratio of energy used to usable energy is 90 percent, compared with only about 40 percent for an internal combustion engine.
When you buy an electric car, you’ll also notice that it’s quiet and emission-free much quieter than a gasoline or diesel engine. In addition, an electric motor has a lot of fewer wear parts than an internal combustion engine. That makes E-cars particularly low maintenance. Repairs are generally easier than with diesel or gasoline engines, which is also reflected in the costs.
High price, poor charging infrastructure: these disadvantages of electric cars must be considered
However, buying electric cars has not only advantages, but also disadvantages that cannot be ignored. What is usually immediately noticeable: the purchase prices for an e-car are usually much higher than those for a vehicle with an internal combustion engine. This is mainly because the the production of the batteries used is still comparatively expensive.
Another important point that still prevents many consumers from buying an electric car is that there are range of many models barely approaches that of vehicles with internal combustion engines. Depending on the model and manufacturer, the current range is 150 to 500 kilometers per battery charge possible. By comparison, many diesel cars, for example, can run more than 1.000 kilometers of driving.
Often criticized is also the lack of charging infrastructure for electric cars. Such a vehicle must be recharged with electricity when the batteries are empty. However, not everyone has a own garage where this is possible. And an electric car also has to be recharged while on the road. In many places, however, there is still a shortage of charging stations.
Here’s what you should look out for when buying an electric car
Electric car cheap or. Buy cheap: often a lower price goes hand in hand with a shorter range.
The presented advantages and disadvantages show: if you want to buy an electric car, you should think about it carefully beforehand. Above all, you should answer the following questions for yourself before deciding on an e-car:
- Which routes do I usually drive? For short distances within the city, an electric car is certainly a good choice. However, if you make a lot of long journeys, the lack of range becomes a problem.
- where can i charge my e-car? It’s a plus if you have your own parking space where you can easily charge the battery. In this case, it is also advisable to install a wallbox. Electric cars can be charged particularly quickly at these stations. The existence of sufficient public charging stations is also a good sign. However, if you do not have these options, you may have problems charging your car.
subsidy if you buy an e-car: the environmental premium
As already mentioned in the introduction, the federal government wants to ensure that a good one million electric cars are registered in germany by 2022. One of the most important points, However, consumers are discouraged from buying an electric car Relatively high purchase price.
To encourage more people to buy an electric car, the so-called environmental bonus has already been available since 2016. This represents a subsidy for the purchase of the car represent. the amount of the premium depends on which drive system the buyer chooses:
- The environmental premium amounts to 4.000 euro for pure battery electric vehicles as well as fuel cell vehicles.
- With 3.000 euro the purchase of plug-in hybrids with a maximum CO2 emission of 50g per kilometer is subsidized.
In each case, the one half of the subsidy paid by the federal government and the other half by the respective manufacturer. if you would like to benefit from the environmental bonus when you buy an electric car, however, certain conditions must be met.
Requirements for the environmental premium
Advantage of buying an electric car: electricity is cheaper than gasoline.
Eligible to apply not only private individuals, but also companies, associations, corporations and foundations. Would you like to receive the full subsidy of 4.000 euro, you must pay a Acquire a pure battery electric vehicle.
It is important to note that the subsidy is only available if consumers purchase electric vehicles for which the net list price of the base model maximum 60.000 euros. More expensive models, such as the tesla model X (from 85.300 euros; as of may 2019), thus fall outside the scope of the incentive. You can find out which vehicles are eligible for the environmental premium at the list of eligible electric vehicles which can be found on the homepage of the federal office of economics and export control (BAFA). This is updated regularly.
In addition, you must still meet the following requirements, to receive the environmental bonus if they want to buy an electric car:
- It is a new car that is being registered for the first time.
- There is only one subsidy per vehicle.
- It must remain registered to the applicant for at least six months.
How to apply for the environmental bonus if you want to buy an electric car?
If you buy an electric car, you will not automatically receive the environmental bonus. Rather you must submit a corresponding application. The contact for this is the federal office of economics and export control. The application is only possible online via an electronic form provided by BAFA.
environmental bonus if you buy an electric car: the application can only be made via the internet.
When applying to receive the environmental premium, if you buy an electric car, you must, among other things personal information (name, address, etc.) as well as to the vehicle. These include, for example information about the manufacturer, the date of purchase and the net purchase price. You must also state whether you have purchased or leased the electric car.
In addition, applicants must submit an copy of the leasing or. contract of sale or upload the binding order. Among other things, this must state that the manufacturer the own contribution in the amount of 2.000 euro deducted from the purchase price.
Your application will then be reviewed. Everything has its right, you will receive a notice of subsidy. After that, applicants have, insofar as they have not yet done so, nine months to register the electric car. To prove registration, you need to upload copies of the registration certificate part I and II and the invoice for the car.
When you buy an electric car with a premium, there is only one last step to take. Once the necessary evidence has been uploaded, they must complete the so-called proof of use, which is made available to you, print out, sign and send to BAFA. After a further test the environmental bonus will then be transferred to the account you specify.
Vehicle tax for electric cars: benefit from special regulations
If people want to buy an electric car, they are often put off by the price of these almost silent vehicles. When buying a vehicle, however, interested parties should not only pay attention to the purchase price per se, but also to the following factors also include the consequential costs in the calculation.
One of the items that cannot be neglected for all registered vehicles is the vehicle tax. As soon as a car is registered, it becomes subject to taxation. depending on the vehicle, owners have to pay several hundred euros a year.
However, you will benefit from advantages if you buy a car powered by an electric motor. If the first registration was before 31. december 2020, you must pay no vehicle tax on your electric car for the first ten years. If this period has expired, the full vehicle tax is still not due. Instead, owners only have to pay the pay half of the actual amount due.
Buying electric cars used: is it recommended?
If you buy a brand-new electric car, you are exempt from vehicle tax for the first ten years.
As already mentioned, the purchase costs for an e-car are considerably higher than for comparable diesel and gasoline vehicles. Many consumers are therefore asking themselves whether it would not be possible to buy an electric car used to save costs.
In principle, this is possible. However, if you want to buy used electric cars, you should note that by it is possible to find younger vehicles on the market – after all, many models are not yet available for purchase for long. Accordingly, the purchase costs still comparatively high.
If you want to buy an electric car used, you should consider the be sure to have the vehicle thoroughly checked out. Although e-cars have fewer wearing parts than cars with internal combustion engines, they can also suffer from wear and tear chassis or shock absorbers damage over time. A test drive is essential, so that you can check whether there are any defects and how satisfied you are with the driving performance.
The most important point when you buy an electric car used is the battery dar. Their performance decreases over the course of time, which is, so that the range of the vehicle gradually decreases. If the battery is even broken, an extremely high expensive replacement necessary. For this reason, you should check the battery thoroughly before buying it have the car checked at a specialist workshop. The following data can be read out, which reveals something about the condition of the energy storage device.