Germany will provide 5.5 billion euros ($6.5 billion) of funding for electric-car charging infrastructure, a significant show of support for one of the country's core industries.
The funds will be offered until 2024, Steffen Seibert, the spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, said on Tuesday following a video conference with heads of German automakers.
The nation's auto industry is ready to meet more ambitious climate goals set out by the European Commission, the executives told Merkel.
The companies have concluded that increasing acceptance of electric cars will make it possible to comply with more restrictive limits for emissions, according to a report cited by the Handelsblatt newspaper.
The report was produced by an industry working group created during the government's last car summit.
The Commission is planning to make its climate goals tougher as part of its so-called Green Deal Initiative. Its current goal is to shave 37.5 percent off the level of emissions last year by 2030.
