Malta has acquired EU funds under the Maltese Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) for the purchase of zero-emission electric vehicles, Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia and Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Chris Bonett said.
These funds, amounting to €50 million, will be spread over 3 years whereby €15 million were allocated this year, a further €15 million will be allocated during 2023 and the last €20 million by the end of 2024.
Minister Farrugia said that the €50m will be invested in approximately 10,000 zero-emission vehicles.
He said that as announced during the Budget, the financial grant to incentivize the purchase of new electric vehicles will be extended in 2023. "Anyone who buys an electric vehicle including electric motorcycles will be entitled to the grant of €11,000, which goes up to €12,000 in case the vehicle scrapping scheme is also used." They will be entitled to another €1,000 if the vehicle was registered in Gozo and €2,000 for a new electric motorcycle which may go up to €2,500 if one scraps another motorcycle, or €3,000 if one scraps a car, the statement read. The same applies to the scheme that incentivizes the purchase of mopeds, pedelecs and bicycles assisted by an electric motor.
Minister Farrugia said that grants such as these are part of government's plan towards an ecological transition, and the objective of this investment is to instigate a wider shift towards electric mobility and reduce emissions from the sector of road transport in Malta by promoting the uptake of electric vehicles in the private sector and the commercial sector. He said that "government is committed to continue making a difference towards achieving our goal of incentivising alternative, greener and more sustainable modes of transportation."
"As outlined in the Budget speech, the amount of registered electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles exceeds 10,000 vehicles. We will continue offering more financial incentives to Maltese motorists in order to make use of a more sustainable and efficient means of transport, and encouraging vehicle owners to purchase new, low emission and more environmentally friendly vehicles, or convert their current vehicle to a cleaner one," Minister Farrugia said.
Parliamentary Secretary Chris Bonett said that the RRF grant is not the only financial assistance in place. A Financial Instrument by virtue of which a recipient can apply and receive a loan for Energy Efficient and Renewable Energy measures was launched on the market in January 2021 and is being extended to cover the purchase of electric vehicles.
"This Financial Instrument is being implemented by two local banks namely, Bank of Valletta plc and APS Bank. With an investment of €15 million from ERDF funds, it is aimed to generate a portfolio of loans of €45 million. To date, 88 final recipients have benefitted from such loans which encourage people to buy electric cars," stated Parliamentary Secretary Bonett.