In a Day and a Half, Over a Thousand Applications Submitted for Co-Financing Eco Vehicles, Fund ‘Shut Off the Tap’

The Director of the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency, Dubravko Ponoš, announced on Thursday that the public call for co-financing the purchase of eco vehicles is temporarily closed because the Fund has already received enough applications within the available amount in just a day and a half since the call was opened, indicating that public interest in the Fund’s incentives for eco vehicles has exceeded expectations.

The call will be temporarily closed today at 3 PM as the Fund has already received enough applications within the available amount. Since yesterday at 10 AM when the call was opened, the Fund has received over 1000 applications.

>>> Ćorić: In a few weeks, companies will have 13 million kuna in subsidies for eco vehicles available

Incentives for the purchase of electric bicycles, electric scooters, motorcycles, and electric quadricycles, plug-in hybrid cars, and electric cars range from 5 to 80 thousand kuna, with a total of 12 million kuna available.

– Such high interest shows that our citizens are embracing global trends towards greater use of electric vehicles. The Fund’s professional service is processing the received applications, and based on initial analyses, we can say that approximately one-third of the applications relate to electric cars. There is significant interest in electric scooters and bicycles, while the least applications pertain to the purchase of hybrid plug-in vehicles, said Ponoš, adding that more detailed statistics will be available after all applications are processed.

Infrastructure Needs to be Secured

Ponoš announced that in a few weeks, the Fund will publish a similar public call aimed at private companies and the public sector. He stated that alongside a greater number of eco vehicles on our roads, it is necessary to ensure appropriate infrastructure. Currently, there are about 230 charging stations in Croatia, but the trend is for that number to significantly increase, and the Fund, as announced by Director Ponoš, will co-finance such projects this year.

>>> In the first two months, 7,546 new vehicles sold, 38 percent more than last year

– For comparison, in 2011, there were 3,800 charging stations in use in EU countries, while today that number has exceeded 100,000. All of this indicates the technological direction in which the automotive industry and its infrastructure are developing, and it is quite clear in which direction e-mobility in Croatia should be directed, said Ponoš.

The significant interest of citizens in co-financing the purchase of eco vehicles was also commented on by the Minister of Environmental Protection and Energy, Tomislav Ćorić, who announced that citizens can expect incentives from the Fund for eco vehicles in the coming years.

>>> German industry must increase investments in electric cars and batteries

– The draft of the 4th national action plan for energy efficiency to promote cleaner transport by 2020 plans for 115.5 million kuna, so citizens can expect incentives from the Fund for eco vehicles in the coming years, said Minister Ćorić.