Germany's Bundestag voted on Thursday 5 November 2026 to extend the Elektromobilitätsgesetz (Electric Mobility Act), the law that lets towns and cities give electric cars parking and lane privileges, until the end of 2035. Without the change, its rules would have expired at the end of 2026, dpa reported via n-tv. The Bundesrat still has to approve it.
The bill is the government's July draft, slightly amended by the Bundestag's transport committee. CDU/CSU and SPD voted for it, the AfD against, and the Greens and the Left abstained, electrive reports.
What the law does
The law itself grants nothing. It allows municipalities to favour electric vehicles, and the E-Kennzeichen, the German number plate ending in "E", is how a car shows it qualifies. According to the ADAC, quoted by dpa, many municipalities use it for free parking or to open bus lanes to electric cars. Others reserve parking at charging points. After a rule change approved in September, the plate also replaces the green Umweltplakette in low-emission zones.
What changes
| Until now | Under the amended law | |
|---|---|---|
| Expiry | End of 2026 | End of 2035 |
| Parking at a public charging point while charging | Unclear without an E-Kennzeichen | Allowed without one; bays stay reserved for cars that are charging |
| Residents' parking permits | Fees apply | Municipalities may waive the fee for electric vehicles |
| Vehicles covered | Mainly cars and light vans | Also buses, trucks and L6e light quadricycles |
| Plug-in hybrids | At most 50 g CO₂/km or 40 km electric range | At most 50 g CO₂/km or 80 km electric range |
The committee added one change for existing owners. E-Kennzeichen on plug-in hybrids registered before the new law takes effect remain valid even if the car misses the new 80 km threshold. The Bundestag also asked the government to report by mid-2030 on how the law is used and what it achieves.
What it means for Tesla owners
Every Tesla is battery-electric and qualifies for the plate, and Tesla registered 47,742 cars in Germany from January to October. For German owners, the extension keeps whatever their town already offers beyond 2026, and the residents' parking waiver could make the plate worth more in cities that use it.
The charging-point rule is the change with the widest reach. The plate is optional, so many German electric cars never got one, and electrive notes that the old wording caused confusion about whether they could stand at a charger. Under the new rule, charging itself is what counts. Drivers of foreign-registered electric cars, who cannot get a German E-Kennzeichen, should benefit as well, although the published reports do not address them directly.
None of this is automatic. Each privilege still depends on the municipality, and the bill does not change Germany's purchase grant or vehicle tax.