The Transport Ministry has launched a scrappage incentive scheme to encourage Cypriot motorists to replace their old high-emission bangers with new eco-friendly cars, preferably electric ones.
The Road Transport Department has published the scheme on its website, calling on interested parties to submit their application from 4 February until 5 March 2020.
A budget for the programme has been set at €3 mln, of which €2.5 mln is earmarked for the withdrawal of old cars and replaced with a new car with a conventional engine meeting the emissions criteria.
The subsidy of €2,000 is available for the purchase of new conventional vehicles, while €5,000 will be given for buying a new electric vehicle, this does not require the withdrawal of an old car.
Car owners replacing their older vehicle with a used electric car will benefit from a €2,500 subsidy.
The budget available for the above is €500,000.
The car to be withdrawn should be 15 years or older, the age to be calculated from the date when the vehicle was first registered in any country as new up to the first day of the launch of the program.
It should also have been continuously registered for the last 10 years.
The new car should have a Euro 6AD or newer engine, which does not exceed 1800cc. Euro 6 is the sixth incarnation of the European Union directive to reduce harmful pollutants from vehicle exhausts.
The Euro 6 standard was introduced in September 2015, and all mass-produced cars sold from this date need to meet these emissions requirements.
The aim of Euro 6 is to reduce levels of harmful car and van exhaust emissions, both in petrol and diesel cars.
According to the scheme, if an owner wishes to replace his old banger with an electrical then they are eligible for both grants, cashing in €7,000.
People interested in the scheme will have just one month to apply online at https://rtd.mcw.gov.cy/.
Successful applicants will be informed by the department and given a period of seven months from the approval date to deliver their car to a licensed destruction site.
Subsidies will be paid out once owners submit the old car’s destruction certificate and present a document with the new car’s details.
Earlier in the month, the government was said to have given the go-ahead to include subsidies to buy a used car in the scrappage scheme.
The government was set to offer a €1000 subsidy to encourage scrapping old cars in exchange for a nearly new one which complies with EU directives on reducing harmful carbon emissions.
However, this has been put on hold for now.
The Transport Ministry told the Financial Mirror that it was looking into ways of introducing subsidies to buy used cars, not older than three years and which complied with EU directives.
“Due to various reasons, the scheme did not include the used cars. A scheme for subsidising used cars is on the table, but the government will take a final decision after consultations with used car importers,” said Adonis Taliadoros, the Ministry’s new spokesperson.
