Germany ready to support electric car battery makers, says minister

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government is ready to offer support to the makers of batteries for electric vehicles, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Tuesday, saying one possibility might be to exempt them from some energy levies.

Speaking at an industry event, he said the production of batteries for electric cars was not necessarily a matter for carmakers, but the future manufacture of battery cells must be guaranteed. The German government would support that.

Altmaier said a possibility might be to exempt the batteries’ energy-intensive production from some electricity charges. He added that decisions must be made soon on electric vehicles and future technology in cars.