Cyprus is in the bottom five on the EU list of countries with the least charging points, as owners of electric vehicles have only 69 locations to plug into while navigating the island’s roads.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), a 2022 survey found only 69 charging points across the island, with electric vehicles making up 5.4% of all vehicles on the roads.
The island is fourth from the bottom for charging points compared to its population, above Malta, which has only 13 charging points, Latvia with 660, and Lithuania with 477.
Estonia is last with 300 charging points.
The Netherlands had the most electric vehicle charging points at the other end of the spectrum, with 111,821.
Germany followed with 87,674 points, France with 83,317, Italy with 37,186 and Spain with 34,380 charging points.
Furthermore, 42% of charging points were concentrated in just two European countries, the Netherlands and Germany.
Together they cover less than 10% of the total surface of the EU.
The Netherlands, with the largest share of infrastructure, had 70 times more charging points than Romania, which had 1,658 EV stations.
Last year, electric vehicles in the Netherlands were 34.5% of all vehicles; in Germany, it was 31.4% and in France, 21.5%.
Cyprus is among the bottom five, despite efforts by the government to increase the number of hybrid and electric cars and charging points with incentive schemes.
According to data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), total hybrid vehicle registrations in 2022 reached 3,479 in Cyprus, up from 2,475 sales in 2021, an increase of 40.5%.
In Q4 2022, there were 773 hybrid vehicle registrations, up from 562 in 2021.
An increase was also recorded in the registrations of full-electric vehicles.
Last year, electric vehicle registrations increased to 403 from only 84 in 2021.
In the last quarter of 2022, electric vehicle registrations reached 108. However, in the same period of 2021, only 14 were registered.
A significant increase was also noted in the registrations of plug-in hybrid vehicles, with 228 registrations in 2022, from 98 the year before.
In Q4 2022, plug-in hybrid vehicle registrations rose to 73 from 14.
Cyprus’ Transport Ministry in January extended the first phase of a €3.7 mln scheme for 1,000 electric vehicle charging stations across the country until the end of April.
The scheme is implemented in two phases, with grants for 500 charging stations handed out each round.
The first phase has a budget of €1.8m.
The second phase will be announced near the end of 2023, with the remaining almost €2 mln.
It is part of the national recovery and resilience plan titled ‘rapid transition to a green economy – sustainable transport.’
Beneficiaries of the scheme include companies, associations, foundations, NGOs, local government authorities and individuals who would like to run a charging station.
The scheme aims to have 1000 stations up and running by 2026.
According to the scheme, charging stations can be set up at public parking spots, private parking, petrol stations and designated areas for electric vehicle charging.
The plan complements a €30 mln incentive scheme to encourage motorists to go electric that went live in January with a €10 mln budget for 2,518 grants.
Interested parties must submit their application by March 9, 11 am.
The grants start at €10,000 for new electric vehicles, while the funding for scrapping old cars amounts to €7,500, with a budget of €10.16 mln.
