Greek PM heralds plan to promote electric cars
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."
The aim, the premier said, is for one in three cars in Greece to be electric by the year 2030. The first phase of the plan foresees financial incentives for individuals and corporations to switch to green cars, noting that the government has earmarked 100 million euros for the purchase of electric cars over 18 months. The subsidy will cover an estimated 25 percent of the purchase of 14,000 new electric cars, he said.
He added that tax breaks, expected to be unveiled by the government in due course, would make the acquisition of electric cars attractive to both inviduals and corporations.
Electric cars will pay no road tax for two years, he said, adding that spending on recharging such cars would be deductable from income tax.
Corporations will also benefit from generous tax breaks for switching to electric cars, he said.
According to Reuters, Greece now has only about 1,000 electric cars – 0.3% of its fleet – on its roads, a very low rate compared to other EU countries, such as Germany, where they account for about 10% of the fleet.
