Incentives for motorists to scrap old vehicles announced

A scheme to encourage the scaping of old, polluting cars, was annoucned by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech during the Budget Speech this evening.

He said the government wanted to see cleaner cars on the road. Therefore, in terms of a scheme which comes into force on November 15, incentives will be given to people who scrap their old vehicle to replace it with another one which has little emissions.

The subsidy will be 15.25% of the value of the new vehicle up to a maximum of €2,000. People who buy a small emissions car but do not scrap an old one will only get half the subsidy.

The scheme is aimed at the removal of 2,000 old cars from the roads. It will remain in force for a year or until its purpose is achieved.

ELECTRIC CARS

Mr Fenech said that Malta is also aiming to have 5,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2020.

This budget is therefore allocating €400,000 for schemes to encourage the purchase of such cars. The government will also be setting up charging points for recharging. A company will be set up for the purpose.

Buyers of electric cars will benefit from the scrappage scheme (see above) when they scrap an old car. They will also be eligible for a subsidy of up to €5,000 for the installation of grid-connected renewable energy sources.

Furthermore, the annual licence fee for such vehicles is being brought down to €10 fromt he current €75.

Companies which opt for electric vehicles will also be eligible for a tax rebate of 125% on the amount they will have spent. Grants will also be given for the training of serving personnel.

Furthermore, Mr Fenech said, following the introduction last year of the new licensing system for commercial vehicles, based on emission levels, the system is being improved with the cocnept of depreciation according to the vehicle year of manufacture and mileage.