Parking for electric cars

This article is dated as shown. Laws, fees and prices have changed since then. Check the figures before you rely on them.

More and more often we see parking spaces on German streets marked with the sign “electric vehicles only”. For added convenience, such spaces are fitted with charging points for your “horse”. Many motorists have asked themselves more than once: may an ordinary car park in these spaces?

I recently read an article describing a case that went to court.

A man parked his car in a car park marked with sign 314 Parking (StVo), and beneath the sign there was a supplementary plate reading “Electric cars only”. As required, he bought a parking ticket and left it under the windscreen. Since his car was not electric, he was issued a fine, which he did not want to pay, and he lodged an appeal with the court.

This is a retelling of an individual case in the article of 21.12.2015; no general permission in force today to park contrary to the supplementary sign can be derived from the account. From the article of 21.12.2015: “In the course of the proceedings the judge found that the sign reading ‘electric vehicles only’ was not backed by legislation. In other words, this sign has no full legal force. As a result, the car owner won the case and did not pay the parking fine.”

The old article's conclusion about free parking in spaces for electric cars cannot be relied upon. The StVO allows parking to be restricted in favour of electric vehicles by means of supplementary signs. Follow the signs and conditions in force at the specific location; a purchased parking ticket does not override the restriction.