Simon Wade
GOING GREENER in Spain should become a lot cheaper soon, as buyers of electric and hybrid cars will receive government incentives of up to €7,000.
The announcement was made today, July 20, by the Ivace Energia and Valencia’s Department of Sustainable Economy.
Financial aid of up to €7,000 is for buyers of pure electric vehicles, with up to €5,000 for new plug-in hybrid owners.
Part of the Moves III program by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, is to encourage the reduction of polluting gas emissions and improve air quality.
Júlia Company, general director of Ivace, explained that the transport sector, “is the one with the highest energy consumption in the Valencian Community and practically all of this consumption comes from oil, so it is essential to carry out active policies to promote a more sustainable type of mobility.”
Thus, Ivace Energía will subsidise purchases, whether they are direct, through loans or via financial leasing or leasing by renting (also called operating leasing) of the greener cleaner vehicles.
Buyers simply have the authorised dealer process the aid electronically.
For businesses in the region, Company said the promotion of sustainable transport, “involves giving priority to the cleanest and most efficient modes of transport and it is essential to promote the renewal of the fleet of vehicles that use fossil fuels towards those that are propelled with alternative energies, in particular those electric vehicles.”
Admitting that, electric and hybrid cars, “still have difficulties succeeding in the current market against conventional technology, so it is necessary to incorporate [this] financial aid.”
For buyers that are not scrapping an old vehicle, aid for the purchase of a pure electric car is up to €4,500 and €2,500 for plug-ins.
For electric motorcycles, the incentive can reach €1,300 euros with scrapping and €1,100 euros without.
Other conditions include the price of the electric vehicle not exceeding €45,000, with the exception of electric models with eight or nine seats, which may reach €53,000.
Regarding electric motorcycles, their price may not exceed €10,000.
Additionally, the same Moves III program provides a 10% rebate to small municipalities (with less than 5,000 inhabitants) for the installation of recharging stations.
It also provides an extra 10% discount for purchases by those with mobility issues.
The aid package is expected to cost €30 million, but will advance the movement towards using renewable energy sources in transport, and will further reduce the dependence on petroleum products.
For the installation of electric recharging points throughout the region, the move will cost roughly €10.5 million.
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