Transport Malta has announced the details of grant schemes for the purchase of environment-friendly vehicles.
Plans for the schemes were originally announced in the Budget.
The schemes offer grants when purchasing a new environment-friendly vehicle, when converting vehicle’s fuel system to Autogas/LPG and when purchasing Battery Electric Vehicle and Battery Electric Quadricycle.
Grant scheme on the purchase of new environment-friendly vehicles
Transport Malta said that subject to various conditions, the grant is as follows:
a) €900 will be given to persons registering a new Category M1 vehicle with CO2 emission levels up to 100g/km;
b) €700 will be given to persons registering a new Category M1 vehicle with CO2 emission levels between 101 and 130g/km;
c) €3,000 will be given to persons registering a new Category M1 Plug in Hybrid vehicle with CO₂ emissions 1-50 g/km;
d) €2,000 will be given to persons registering a new category M1 Hybrid Vehicle with CO₂ emissions between 50-65 g/km;
The grant shall be given upon the purchase of a new Category M1 vehicle or an M1 Plug in Hybrid that qualifies for the grant scheme whilst at the same time de-registering a vehicle in the same category. Every eligible person shall be entitled to only one grant under this scheme.
The Government has allocated €500,000 for this scheme. Applications will be handled on a first come first served basis.
Last year, the government allocated €1.4 million for such grants. There were 1,761 applications to register a new Category M1 vehicle whilst 67 applications to register a new Category M1 Plug-in Hybrid which were all accommodated.
Application forms for such schemes can be collected from the Vehicle Licensing Unit within Transport Malta, A3 Towers, Paola or from: http://www.transport.gov.mt/land-transport
Scheme to promote conversion of vehicles to use autogas
The grant amounts to €200 which will be given upon the conversion to Autogas/LPG of a Category M1 vehicle, (a passenger vehicle with a seating capacity of up to eight passengers and the driver) or a Category N1 vehicle, (a vehicle designed and constructed for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes).
The scheme came into effect on January 1 and closes on December 31 or earlier if the maximum of 250 claims is reached. Applications are being processed on a first come first serve basis. Persons who have converted their vehicle to Autogas during the past years may also apply for the scheme.
In 2016, there were 249 applications submitted for the conversion to autogas which were all accommodated.
Application forms for such schemes can be collected from the Vehicle Licensing Unit within Transport Malta, A3 Towers, Paola or from http://www.transport.gov.mt/land-transport
Purchase of electric vehicles
The government is offering €200,000 in grants for any one company wishing to invest in a new electric vehicle fleet in line with the distribution of grants as indicated below.
In 2016, all applications that were submitted for the grant were accommodated to the extent that 46 additional electric vehicles were registered on Maltese Roads.
Subject to various conditions, the grant is divided into three combinations and besides applicable to Private Persons, Registered NGOs and the Business Community it is being extended also to Local Councils, as indicated in the scheme itself.
The scheme (subject to various conditions) is as follows:
(i) For private individuals the grant will amount to:
a) €5,000 when registering a new or used electric Category M1 or N1 vehicle without scrapping an older vehicle;
b) €8,000 when registering a new electric Category M1 or N1 vehicle and de-registering another Category M1 or N1 vehicle which is at least 10 years old from year of manufacture;
c) €2,000 when registering a new or used electric quadricycle.
The scheme as explained above is open for private individuals, Local Councils, Non-Government Organisations, and commercial companies and businesses.
With respect to used electric vehicles, the grant is only applicable for Battery Electric Vehicles of being not more than 24 months old from date of first registration and not more than 12,000 km on the odometer.
Applications will be handled on a first come first served basis. Companies which have already benefited from the last scheme with respect to electric vehicles are eligible to benefit again from this scheme as long as they are in line with state aid regulations. The declarations submitted in this regard will be scrutinised accordingly.
In addition to this initiative, the government has already launched other initiatives in the form of grants to assist new electric vehicle importers to invest in the technology and re-training of their staff as well as other measures for private companies to install electric car charging infrastructure.
These initiatives are over and above other measures and projects which the government will launch over the coming few months to promote sustainable mobility, including car sharing and e-bike-sharing initiatives.
Application forms for such schemes can be collected from the Vehicle Licensing Unit within Transport Malta, A3 Towers, Paola or from http://www.transport.gov.mt/land-transport