Electric vehicle conversion

Nearly 98,000 passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) were sold in Türkiye last month, pointing to a 62.7 percent increase from April 2022, data from the Automotive Distributors' and Mobility Association (ODMD) have shown.

Last month, 77,400 passenger cars were sold on the local market, translating into an annualized increase of 69.9 percent.

Sales of new cars jumped last month in Europe, surpassing the level of one million for the first time since June 2021, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association published on Wednesday.

New car registrations hit 1,087,939 in March, an increase of 28.8 percent from the same month last year.

The European Commission announced today that it is taking Bulgaria to court on three cases - for clean vehicles, for the electronic toll service and for the marketing of natural mineral and spring waters.

Clean vehicles

Electric cars remain an unaffordable luxury for the majority of Greeks and Europeans in general, as in spite of state subsidies, which were also provided in Greece, the purchase cost is in some cases even double that of a conventional car.

The combined sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles increased by a strong 61.7 percent in March compared with the same month of 2022, the Automotive Distributors' and Mobility Association (ODMD) has said.

A regulation imposing restrictions on the sale of second-hand cars to rein in a surge in vehicle prices has been published in the Official Gazette.

According to the new rules, those who engage in the trade of second-hand cars will not be able to sell their vehicle for six months from the first date of registration of the vehicle or until the car covers at least 6,000 kilometers.

The European Union approved a plan to end the sale of vehicles with combustion engines by 2035 in Europe, the 27-member bloc announced yesterday, in a bid to reduce CO2 emissions to zero.

The government is preparing significant tax incentives to encourage the use of zero- and low-emission vehicles, as well as the proliferation of electric vehicle charging stations.

A draft government bill aims to offer incentives to people or businesses that buy electric cars, develop a network of charging stations for the environmentally friendly vehicles and create cutting-edge production units to manufacture them, Kathimerini has learned.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday heralded a government scheme aimed at promoting the switch to electric cars, declaring on the occasion of World Environment Day that, "Greece is preparing to plug into the future."