As part of the endeavour to continue improving air quality while increasing the sustainability and efficiency of the country’s transport network, the Government has once again launched a number of financial schemes to incentivise the public to switch to cleaner and more sustainable private means of transport.
Among these is the scheme dedicate to electric vehicles, with an allocation of €600,000 and an additional €100,000 ring-fenced for pedelecs and a sub-category of motorcycles. Individuals, Local Councils, registered NGOs and private companies are eligible for the €600,000 scheme, which is itself divided into a number of different grants. In 2018, a similar scheme with an initial allocation of €500,000 was available to the same categories of eligible applicants. The take-up on this scheme was so positive that the allocation was increased, until by the end of the year the public had benefitted from almost €1.35 million in grants.
A €7,000 grant is available for individuals registering a new M1 or N1 electric vehicle while deregistering and scrapping another M1 or N1 internal combustion engine vehicle at least 10 years old from the year of manufacture.
Meanwhile, should an individual be interested in registering a new M1 or N1 electric vehicle without deregistering and scrapping another vehicle, they are eligible for up to €6,000.
A €2,000 grant is also available for applicants registering an imported second hand M1 or N1 vehicle which is not older than 36 months and with less than 15,000 kilometres on its odometer.
Individuals who register a new electric quadricycle or a new electric motorcycle in the category L6e, L7e or L3e-A3 are eligible for €3,500
The scheme also includes a grant for commercial companies, who are eligible for a maximum of €200,000 should they convert their fleet from Internal Combustion Engine vehicles to electric vehicles. Companies who have already benefitted from this scheme are eligible as long as they conform to state aid regulations.
As mentioned earlier, joined to this scheme is an additional allocation of €100,000 dedicated to €400 grants for individuals purchasing a new pedelec or a new electric motorcycle, moped or tricycle under the L1e, L2e, L3e-A1, L3e-A2 or L5e category. A similar grant was available in 2018, and the take-up was encouraging, with almost 230 new pedelecs or electric motorcycles of the above-mentioned categories joining the Maltese road network.
Government has also reissued a scheme with an allocation of €80,000 offering a grant of up to €25,000 for new car importers who want to upgrade their garage to be able to service electric vehicles while training staff for this new technology.
Those interested in applying can do so at http://www.transport.gov.mt/land-transport or by picking up an application form from the Transport Malta offices at A3 Towers in Tirq l-Arkata, Paola.
For further assistance, one may also contact Transport Malta on +356 21222203 or on +356 80072393.