"The price of electricity in Germany is currently up to three times higher than in the USA or China. The high electricity costs are, on the one hand, burdening the competitiveness of companies in the German automotive industry. On the other hand, they are slowing down the ramp-up of e-mobility because power for charging is too expensive. Unfortunately, the draft bills passed today by the Federal Cabinet (Third Act to Amend the Energy and Electricity Tax Act and Draft Act for a Subsidy for Transmission Grid Costs for 2026) only inadequately address these problems.

With regard to the draft bill amending the Electricity and Energy Tax Act, it is particularly critical that the reduction of the electricity tax to the European minimum rate agreed in the coalition agreement is not being implemented for all companies and consumers. The coalition must urgently improve this.

In addition, the extension of the vehicle tax exemption for purely battery-electric vehicles until 2035, also promised in the coalition agreement, must now be implemented swiftly. The current regulation expires at the end of the year. Consumers need planning security as soon as possible.

One thing is certain: bidirectional charging is an important future field for climate-neutral mobility and the energy transition. Bidirectional charging increases the attractiveness of e-mobility, supports the expansion of renewable energies, and can contribute to stabilizing power grids in the future. Among other things, the planned law is intended to prevent consumers from formally becoming 'electricity suppliers' when bidirectional charging is used and to prevent them from having to fulfill the necessary formal requirements. The draft law is therefore an important first step towards enabling bidirectional charging through regulation.
However, political decisions have to reach far beyond this to successfully establish bidirectional charging in the market. In particular, the double burden on ancillary electricity costs must be eliminated. Currently, ancillary electricity costs are incurred both when charging an electric vehicle for the purpose of intermediate storage and, after feeding back into the grid, for actual final consumption. This hurdle to the success of bidirectional charging must be removed, and improvements in this area must be made in the further parliamentary process.
With regard to the issue of network charge relief, it is clear that the respective current draft legislation of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy does not provide for any funding beyond 2026. The coalition agreement proposes a permanent reduction in electricity prices for businesses and consumers—and that is exactly what must happen.

The fact is: network charges now account for a significant and growing share of electricity costs. Temporary government co-financing of network charges is therefore fundamentally welcome. We now expect the federal government to clarify the financing of network charges as quickly as possible: Relief must be made binding beyond 2026, and its passing on to consumers must be guaranteed by law. Furthermore, the cap on network charges announced in the coalition agreement must be implemented immediately. The coalition must also urgently improve the industrial electricity price and present a binding roadmap.

In addition to short-term and targeted measures, fundamental reforms are also needed to bring energy and electricity prices back to a competitive level. Only in this way Germany can assert itself as a business location in international competition."