Filenews 28 December 2022
A new grant scheme to change your old, polluting car has been announced by the Ministry of Transport.
Specifically, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works announced the 2nd Announcement of the First Phase of the Electromobility Plan for the period 2022 – 2023.
The updated Plan is a continuation of the First Phase of the Plans that were announced at the end of 2021, which had been crowned with success after 7,000 citizens had expressed interest in purchasing an electric vehicle. It is noted that almost 100% of the beneficiaries in sponsorship for a private pure and partially electric vehicle, have completed the process of ordering the vehicle.
The success of these Plans has resulted in approximately 140% of the national targets for the new registrations of electric vehicles for 2022, including plug-in hybrids and orders for the year, due to the Plans.
In the context of further improvement of the Electromobility Plans, based on the experience of the first Call, suggestions of experts in the sector, institutions and citizens, significant changes have been made to the Plan as presented below:
The Schemes have been merged into a comprehensive Electric Vehicle Subsidy Scheme in combination with the withdrawal of old polluting vehicles with 17 categories / types of sponsorships and with a budget of €10,154,000.
The revised Scheme includes sponsorship for:
- Pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars with CO2 emissions up to 50 g/km, with a purchase price not exceeding €80,000 inc. VAT for new cars and €50.000 incl. VAT for used vehicles,
- L-category electric vehicles, i.e. motorcycles and micro-cars,
- Electric pedal assistance bikes (scooters and skates not included) combined with cash,
- Tickets for buses combined with cash.
In all categories/types of sponsorships for private or commercial vehicles, commercial vehicles and minibuses, it is mandatory to withdraw a vehicle that is more than or equal to 12 years old, while during the application process the interested party must submit online a specific form, signed by the seller / dealership (the form can be found on the website www.ev.gov.cy).
The approval criteria have been amended and include:
- For applications for vehicle categories E1 to E4, E16 and E17 (low CO2 vehicles – up to 50 g/km), the priority criterion for approval is the age of the vehicle to be withdrawn. That is, the oldest vehicle to be withdrawn gives priority to the applicant.
- For applications for vehicle categories E5 to E11 (pure electric vehicles) an online draw will take place after the closing date of the applications. That is, priority will not be given depending on the time and day of submission of the application. Thus, applicants do not need to submit their applications once the application portal is in place, as this does not give them any advantage.
- For applications for electric bicycles, one of the above procedures will be applied, depending on the type of sponsorship (see Sponsorship Tables).
Applications will be made only electronically on www.ev.gov.cy website and the period for their submission will be from January 9, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. until March 9, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.
The number of sponsorships per category, the grant amount as well as the application submission and approval process are presented below:
Case 1
For the following sponsorship categories, the declaration of a vehicle to be withdrawn is required when registering an application.
Presentation of a Certificate of Expression of Interest is mandatory.
The ranking of applications will be based on the date of first registration of the vehicle to be withdrawn that will be declared.
For sponsorship categories E1, E2, E3 and E4, eligible vehicles for purchase and sponsorship are plug-in hybrid vehicles with CO2 emissions up to 50 g/km and pure electric.
For category E16 eligible for purchase and sponsorship are electric bicycles of assisted cycling (scooters and scooters are not included) as described below.
Sponsorship Category | Description | Sponsorship Amount | Number of sponsorships | Category Teams |
E1 | Withdrawal and replacement with a new low-CO2 private vehicle (up to 50 g/km) | € 7.500 | 260 | A |
E2 | Withdrawal and replacement with a new low-emission CO2 taxi vehicle (up to 50 g/km) | € 12.000 | 17 | A |
E3 | Withdrawal and replacement with a new low CO2 vehicle (up to 50 g/km) for a holder of a disabled vehicle | € 10.000 | 10 | A |
E4 | Withdrawal and replacement with a new low-emission CO2 vehicle (up to 50 g/km) of a large family | € 10.000 | 10 | A |
E16 | Withdrawal and contribution of €400 for the purchase of a new electric bicycle (assisted cycling) without limitation for the location of the motor or battery and additionally a one-off grant of €500 | € 900 | 155 | C |
E17 | Withdrawal against the provision of free tickets worth €250 for use in regular bus services and the lump sum of €500 | € 750 | 790 | D |
Case 2
For the following sponsorship categories, a declaration of a vehicle to be withdrawn is not required when registering an application. However, a vehicle must be declared for withdrawal at the stage of sending the order confirmation.
Presentation of a Certificate of Expression of Interest is mandatory.
The ranking of applications will be done by lottery.
Eligible vehicles for purchase and sponsorship are pure electrics.
Sponsorship Category | Description | Sponsorship Amount | Number of sponsorships | Category Groups |
E5 | Sponsorship for the purchase of a new zero-emission CO2 private vehicle | € 10.000 | 500 | A |
E6 | Sponsorship for the purchase of a new zero-emission CO2 taxi vehicle | € 15.000 | 15 | A |
E7 | Sponsorship for the purchase of a new zero-emission CO2 vehicle for a disabled vehicle beneficiary | € 12.000 | 12 | A |
E8 | Sponsorship for the purchase of a new zero-emission CO2 vehicle for a large family | € 12.000 | 12 | A |
E9 | Sponsorship for the purchase of a used vehicle for private use with zero CO2 emissions | € 5.000 | 50 | A |
E10 | Sponsorship for the purchase of a new category N1 electric vehicle (commercial gross weight up to 3,500 kg) with zero CO2 emissions | € 15.000 | 30 | A |
E11 | Sponsorship for the purchase of a new vehicle of category M2 (minibus) with zero CO2 emissions | € 40.000 | 2 | A |
Case 3
For the following sponsorship categories, no vehicle is required for withdrawal.
The ranking of applications will be done by lottery.
Eligible vehicles for purchase and sponsorship are the pure electric category L for the sponsorship categories E12 and E13 as described below.
For categories E14 and E15 eligible for purchase and sponsorship are electric bicycles of assisted cycling (scooters and scooters are not included) as described below.
Sponsorship Category | Description | Sponsorship Amount | Number of sponsorships | Category Teams |
E12 | Sponsorship for the purchase of a new zero-emission CO2 vehicle of category L6e (subcategory 'B') and L7e (subcategory 'C') e.g. micro-cars | € 4.000 | 5 | A |
E13 | Sponsorship for the purchase of a new zero-emission CO2 vehicle of category L (excluding vehicles of category L6e (subcategory 'B') and L7e (subcategory 'B and C') e.g. motorcycles | € 1.500 | 420 | B |
E14 | Sponsorship for the purchase of a new electric bicycle (pedal assisted) with a motor in the centre and a battery built in or fit in | € 1.000 | 55 | C |
E15 | Sponsorship for the purchase of a new electric bicycle (pedal assist) without limitation for the position of the motor or battery | € 400 | 175 | C |
It is noted that a natural person can apply to only one sponsorship category (E1 – E17) per Category Group (A, B, C and D). In case of an application in more than one category per group, the application made on the most recent date and time will be taken into account (e.g. if an applicant submits an interest in Category E1 (Group A) and repeats the procedure for Category E2 (Group A), the only application that will be considered is that of Category E2 made on the most recent date and time).
Each legal entity may submit up to ten (10) applications in total per single company for the sponsorship categories from E1 to E13. It is noted that, in case more than ten applications are registered, the ten applications that were made last will be taken into account and the previous ones will be cancelled.
It is noted that vehicles that meet the following criteria can be used for withdrawal purposes:
- be of category M1 or N1,
- be more than or equal to twelve (12) years of age, calculated from the date on which the vehicle was registered in any country as new until 9 January 2023,
- have been registered in the Register of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles for the last seven (7) consecutive years from January 9, 2023,
- have a valid marketing authorisation for it on the date of commencement of application acceptance or be declared as immobilised and have had a valid marketing authorisation for it for any period within the last eighteen (18) months from 9 January 2023, and
- not have a cancelled registration until January 9, 2023.
More information as well as a detailed explanation of the Electric Vehicle Subsidy Scheme can be found in the Scheme Guide on www.ev.gov.cy website.
