Benefits and Incentives provided by European governments
Local, regional and national authorities in EU Member States offer various incentives to encourage the purchase and use of EVs. Some of these incentives are not limited to passenger cars but also include other road vehicles such as vans, buses, bicycles and motorcycles. EV owners are often either fully exempted from paying the vehicle registration tax (for instance, in Flanders in Belgium) or pay a discounted rate (for instance, in Wallonia in Belgium). Other tax reductions are also offered. For instance, Germany exempts EVs from the annual circulation tax for a period of 10 years, starting from the date of their first registration. Austria exempts EVs from the consumption/pollution tax, ownership tax and company car tax. In Ireland, EV owners pay the minimum rate of the road tax. Some governments also offer purchase grants. The amounts under these grants, the method of calculating them and the types of eligible vehicles vary greatly from one government to another. For instance, swapping a diesel car (older than 2001) for a new electric car in France entitles the owner to up to €11 000 in grants from the state.
An overview of tax benefits and incentives provided by European governments is provided in the maps below. If you move the mouse over the individual countries, further information is displayed.
Acquisition Support
Austria: VAT deduction and exemption from tax for zero-emission cars (eg BEVs and FCEVs).
Belgium: Brussels and Wallonia: minimum rate for BEVs. Flanders: BEVs and FCEVs (emitting 50g CO2/km or less) are exempt until end of 2020.
Cyprus: Exemption for vehicles emitting less than 120g CO2/km.
Czechia: Exemption from registration charges for BEVs and FCEVs emitting 50g CO2/km or less (upon request of a special number plate).
Denmark: Exemption for FCEVs until 31/12/2021. BEVs and PHEVs pay 20% of the tax in 2019. Reduction for BEVs and PHEVs of up to DKK 40,000 in 2019 and DKK 77,500 in 2020
Finland: Minimum rate for zero-emission vehicles.
Greece: Exemption for electric vehicles (ie zero-emission vehicles).
Hungary: Exemption for BEV and PHEV cars
Ireland: Reduction for: BEVs up to €5,000 (31/12/2021), PHEVs €2,500 (until 31/12/2019)
Malta: Minimum rate for vehicles emitting less than 100g CO2/km.
Netherlands: Exemption for zero-emission cars.
Poland: Exemption for BEVs and PHEVs (not in effect yet).
Portugal: VAT deduction for BEVs (with value of less than €62,000) and PHEVs (with value of less than €50,000).
Slovakia: Minimum rate (€33) for BEVs.
Slovenia: Minimum rate (0.5%) for vehicles emitting less than 110g CO2/km.
Spain: Exemption for vehicles emitting less than 120g CO2/km.
United Kingdom: Exemption for BEVs and cars emitting less than 50g CO2/km (from April 2018 until March 2021).
Commercial Fleet
Austria: Exemption for zero-emission cars.
Belgium: Deductibility of 120% under corporate tax of expenses for zeroemission cars until end of 2019 (100% from 2020).
France: Exemption from CO2-based tax component for vehicles emitting less than 20g/km.
Germany: Reduction of the taxable amount for BEVs (from 1% to 0.5% of the gross catalogue price per month).
Hungary: Exemption for BEV and PHEV cars.
Latvia: Minimum rate (€10) for BEVs.
Netherlands: Minimum rate (4%) for zero-emission cars.
Portugal: Exemption for BEVs.
Sweden: Reduction for BEVs and PHEVs of 40% (up to SEK 10,000).
United Kingdom: Minimum rate for zero-emission vehicles.
Incentives
Austria: Incentive scheme (until end of 2020): €3,000 for new BEVs and FCEVs, €1,500 for PHEVs and EREVs. For more details: www.umweltfoerderung.at
Belgium: Brussels: financial incentives for companies to buy electric, hybrid or fuel-cell vehicles. For more details: http://werk-economie-emploi.brussels/investissements-environnementaux | Flanders: purchase incentives for BEVs and FCEVs (cars and vans only).
Finland: Purchase incentive of €2,000 granted for new BEVs, provided value does not exceed €50,000.
France: Bonus-malus scheme: bonus of up to €6,000 for vehicles emitting 20g CO2/km or less. Vehicles under 117g CO2/km exempt from penalty. | Scrappage scheme: up to €5,000 for purchase of second hand or new BEVs and PHEVs
Germany: Environmental bonus: €4,000 for BEVs and FCEVs, €3,000 for PHEVs and EREVs
Ireland: Purchase incentives: Up to €5,000 for BEVs (until 31/12/2021)
Italy: Bonus-malus scheme: Bonus: a one-off amount (max €6,000 for cars emitting 20g CO2/km or less) at registration of the vehicle (between 1/3/2019 - 31/12/2021).Malus: up to €2,500 for cars emitting more than 250g CO2/km.
Romania: Scrappage scheme: €10,000 for BEVs (plus €1,500 for scrapping a vehicle older than eight years), €4,500 for new HEVs
Slovenia: Incentive scheme: €7,500 for BEVs (cars), €4,500 for BEVs (vans and heavy quadricycles), €4,500 for PHEVs (cars and vans) and EREVs, €3,000 for BEVs (light quadricycles)
Spain: Incentive scheme: Up to €5,500 for cars, €6,000 for vans, €8,000 for medium vehicles (M2, N2), €15,000 for heavy vehicles (M3, N3)
Sweden: Incentive scheme: SEK 60,000 for BEVs, SEK 10,000 for PHEVs emitting less than 60g CO2/km
United Kingdom: Government grants (through dealers): ? Cars: 35% of purchase price BEVs, up to £3,500 ? Vans: 20% of purchase price BEVs, up to £8,000 For more details: https://www.gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants
Tax and Benefits
Austria: Exemption for zero-emission cars.
Belgium: Brussels and Wallonia: minimum rate for zero-emission vehicles. ? Flanders: BEVs and FCEVs (emitting 50g CO2/km or less) are exempt until end of 2020.
Bulgaria: Exemption for electric vehicles.
Cyprus: Minimum rate for vehicles emitting less than 120g CO2/km.
Czechia: Exemption for alternatively-powered vehicles (ie electric, hybrids, CNG, LPG and E85).
Denmark: Special rules apply to BEVs, PHEVs and FCEVs.
Finland: Minimum rate for zero-emission vehicles.
Germany: 10-year exemption for BEVs and FCEVs registered between 1/1/2016 and 31/12/2020.
Greece: Exemption for electric cars and cars emitting 90g CO2/km or less registered after 31/10/2010.
Hungary: Exemption for BEV and PHEV cars
Ireland: Minimum rate (€120) for electric vehicles.
Italy: Five-year exemption for electric vehicles from the date of first registration. After this period, 75% reduction of the tax rate applied to equivalent petrol vehicles.
Latvia: Exemption for cars emitting 50g CO2/km or less registered after 31/12/2009.
Malta: Minimum rate for vehicles emitting less than 100g CO2/km.
Netherlands: Exemption for zero-emission cars.
Romania: Exemption for electric vehicles.
Slovakia: Exemption for BEVs
Spain: Reduction of 75% for BEVs in main cities (eg Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Valencia, etc).
United Kingdom: Exemption for zero-emission vehicles
Created by EUFAL Consortium, 2020