Investment in e-fleet is worthwhile

There's no getting around electric cars. The investment booster now allows companies to write off 75 percent of their electric vehicles in the year of purchase.

This article is part of the special topic " Electromobility for Trades & SMEs".

No, the new government is already making changes to the framework for businesses . These measures also help businesses invest in converting their vehicle fleets to electric vehicles. This applies to the installation of charging infrastructure at the company premises as well as the vehicles themselves, and is done through depreciation. Business owners can usually offset their investments against profits . The new aspect of the investment booster is that equipment investments can be depreciated by 30 percent in the year of purchase, and electric vehicles by as much as 75 percent.

Tax-saving model: Degressive depreciation as an investment booster

For companies, it's a matter of calculation whether to use the well-known depreciation method (AfA), the allowance for wear and tear , in the straight-line or declining-balance method. Straight-line means that they deduct the same amount from the acquisition costs from their profit each year over the depreciation period. With declining-balance depreciation, they can claim a higher amount in the first few years , which then decreases accordingly. In other words, the period of tax depreciation doesn't change, but the amount they can claim does.

The investment booster allows companies to depreciate all investments made between July 1, 2025, and December 1, 2027, at a rate of up to 30 percent in the first year . In the following two years, they can also depreciate 30 percent of the remaining value each year. This helps companies better secure their liquidity.

Write off 75 percent immediately


Therefore, companies can now also depreciate 75 percent of the purchase price of an electric car using a declining balance method. This regulation applies to all newly acquired electric vehicles until January 1, 2028. If the company also wants to purchase an electric car as a company vehicle for employees, the tax incentive has been increased from €70.000 to €100.000 . Company car drivers must then pay tax on the benefit in kind at a rate of 0,25 percent of the list price per month (plus 0,03 percent per kilometer of distance between home and work, either as a flat rate or based on individual journeys).

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Offer available


There is no shortage of potential vehicles – quite the opposite. Both light commercial vehicles and classic passenger cars are now available in every class and, with regard to business applications, for every purpose . Most vehicle manufacturers even offer extensive conversion and modification services themselves. Brands implement special equipment in collaboration with certified conversion specialists; some models are available as single- or dual-invoice vehicles and are in no way inferior to their combustion engine counterparts.

The latest entrant to the electric commercial vehicle market is Kia , a company that already had a presence in Germany with a van 30 years ago and is now gradually launching its PBV range . PBV stands for Platform Beyond Vehicle , and the first model is the PB5 Cargo, available from €32.932,77 (net). The van offers a range of up to 416 kilometers and 5,1 cubic meters of cargo space.

Renault is also poised to launch three new versions based on a new platform specifically designed for electric vehicles. In addition to the redesigned Trafic, the Estafette and Goelette will be launched next year.

Declining-balance depreciation


Declining-balance depreciation is based on the residual value and remaining useful life of the asset , whereas straight-line depreciation remains constant over the asset's useful life. It is advantageous when profits are significantly reduced in the first few years of the asset's use, and hidden reserves are to be built up more quickly. If the rate of declining-balance depreciation falls below that of straight-line depreciation, the company should switch to straight-line depreciation. There's even a formula for this switch : Useful life + 1 - (100 / initial declining-balance rate) equals the year. For example, for an asset depreciated at 25 percent in the first year using declining-balance depreciation over a five-year period: 5 + 1 - (100 / 25) = 2; therefore, the switch should be made in the second year.

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