Candidacies for a new phase of state support for the purchase of electric vehicles opened yesterday morning at 10am – and by the middle of the afternoon they had been ‘exhausted’: €17.6 million in subsidies made available through the Environmental Fund had been snapped up – giving over 2,200 car owners and hundreds of electric bicycle and motorcycle enthusiasts money towards their purchases.
Owners of electric cars were able to claim €4,000 a piece: cyclists/ motorcyclists received up to 50% of their purchases (up to a maximum of €1,500).
There were various provisos (already well-publicised in advance), thus people accessing the support had all their paperwork ready. Of the 2,203 candidacies for the purchase of electric vehicles, for example, only two were not considered valid.
As reports stressed yesterday, this state support was available until February 12 “or when the funds ran out” (which ended up being just a few hours later).
Minister for Environment and Energy Maria da Graça Carvalho has promised there will be a new phase of support coming in 2026 – this time to the tune of €20 million.
Part of the focus of these exercises is to get drivers to scrap combustion engine vehicles of 10 years or older (as these are deemed the ‘most polluting’ on the roads).
Source: Correio da Manhã/ Observador
