Government incentives for plug-in electric vehicles

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." 

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.

Vehicle owners were on Monday given an extra 15 days to pay their 2020 road tax, as Tuesday's original deadline for the annual fee was moved to January 15, according to an announcement by the Finance Ministry.

Automaker Volkswagen is accelerating its move into battery-powered cars, saying it will reach its goal of 1 million electric cars per year two years earlier than planned. Dec. 27's announcement came as European automakers are under pressure to meet lower emissions limits aimed at fighting global warming.

The popularity of electric vehicles in Turkey, along with the world, continues to trend upwards, as the country is projected to have some 2.5 million electric cars in 2030.

According to a report by SHURA Energy Transition Center, every 154 people out of 1,000 currently owns a vehicle in Turkey.

The number of electric vehicles in Turkey has reached a total of 1,500, said Berkan Bayram, the head of the Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Association (TEHAD).

There will be rules for the movement of electric drones in changes to the Road Transport Act. Changes to the law have been published on the Council of Ministers' Public Consultation Portal.

Scheme for imposing electric vehicles provides a number of reliefs for their owners, Daily Mail writes. Electric cars will have special, green license plates. Cars with these numbers will have the right to cheaper or free parking and to drive in bus lanes.

The government will provide incentives for people, and companies, to replace old-technology, polluting cars with zero emission ones from next year, Deputy Finance Minister Apostolos Vesyropoulos said.

The incentives will come in the form of lower registration and use levies for vehicles, including company cars, Vesyropoulos told Skai radio.