26.04.2021.
The Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund continues promoting e-mobility, for which in 2021 the total of HRK 105 million grant funding has been earmarked. Apart from the bigger budget, the model of applying for co-financing will also change. As opposed to applying directly as was the case so far, this year the application will be submitted for both citizens and companies by car dealers via the online application. 90 million kunas will be available to the citizens and companies, while the remaining 15 million is allocated for the public sector that will apply directly to the Fund.The first step in the implementation of the new model of co-financing will be the Public Call for manufacturers, dealerships, or importers of motor vehicles, that will report to the Fund the points of sale and available models of energy efficient vehicles. Every point of sale will be assigned a user account for the application. After the Fund in early June publishes the Public Call for the citizens and companies, car dealers will submit the application for co-financing on behalf of the beneficiaries via the online application. By entering the mandatory information about the customer and uploading the required documentation into the system, the beneficiary will automatically be assigned the available amount of incentive. However, to exercise the right to co-financing, the beneficiaries shall have to pay the minimum down payment for the vehicle in the amount of 7% of the sum requested from the Fund. For natural persons that will be the maximum of 4900 kunas, and for legal person up to 28,000 kunas.
The exact amount of used up funding can be monitored in real time on a dedicated website of the Fund that will go live at the beginning of June. There, all interested parties will be able to find the details about the programme for co-financing, the list of all models of vehicles that are co-financed, and points of sale. Once the appropriations applied for reach HRK 90 million, the call will be temporarily closed.
As has been the case so far, the rate of co-financing will amount to 40% per vehicle, and the maximum amount of incentive will depend on the category of vehicle. For electric vehicles in categories L1-L7 up to HRK 20,000.00, for plug-in hybrids up to HRK 40,000.00, and up to HRK 70,000.00 for electric or hydrogen drive vehicles. The funding is also available for N1 category of vehicles that includes plug-in hybrids (up to HRK 40,000.00), electric drive, CNG, LNG, or hydrogen, with incentives of up to HRK 70,000.00. The vehicles in categories N2, N3, M2, M3 with electric, plug-in hybrid, CNG, LNG or hydrogen drive will be co-financed with up to HRK 400,000. Citizens will be able to get incentive for one new vehicle, while companies will be able to purchase several with the maximum amount of co-financing of HRK 400,000. Both categories of beneficiaries will have to keep the vehicles in ownership for two years.
In the process of planning and developing the new model of co-financing, the Fund held a number of meetings with professional associations, including the Croatian Chamber of Economy, various manufacturers, dealerships and importers, and with interested associations.
So far, the Fund has approved co-financing for more than 4500 electric vehicles. Still, the transition of the transport system into the energy efficient one has to be stepped up, considering that the Low-carbon Development Strategy envisages that by 2050 as much as 35% of the Croatian motor fleet should be electric.
