Poland introduces high subsidies for low-cost electric vehicles

[[MC]Ronin[MC]]

The measure should make e-cars attractive, but restrictions can have a negative effect. What is the situation in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe?

In August 2019, 6,672 electric vehicles were registered in Poland, which is only 0.2% of the entire park. This is well below the levels for Central and Eastern Europe (the situation is even worse for us). However, or perhaps for this very reason, the Polish government has set ambitious targets for e-mobility, but with some tricks.

According to politicians in Warsaw, there should be 600,000 electric cars in Poland by 2030. Currently, in Slovakia, 300 conventional cars are driven by one electric vehicle, while in Poland the number is 500 with a drive compared to an e-car. At the same time, there is one electric car in every 50th conventional car in Germany.

Statistics from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) show that there are at least two examples in Europe that are highly inconsistent with the results. Slovenia will raise the eco subsidy to 8,000 euros (from the already serious 7,500) from December. This is reflected in the highest penetration of electric vehicles in the markets of Central and Eastern Europe.

The opposite is Romania. Our northern neighbor is given the largest eco subsidy: € 10,000. However, registrations of new electric vehicles are only 0.5%, which is sufficient only for the average in the countries of our region. In our country, as you know, there is no subsidy unless we are talking about government procurement for different institutions, even in these cases the institutions in question avoid eco-cars.

There was also no subsidy in Poland (so far), but that has changed. The government introduced a subsidy of 37,500 zlotys (8,600 euros), but for electric vehicles, the price of which does not exceed 125,000 zloty (29,000 euros). If an e-car is more expensive than this, it does not receive a subsidy. The other catch is that company cars, plug-in hybrids and electric buses are excluded from the program.

This measure can have an impact, as studies show that many buyers in Poland refrain from buying for financial reasons. This is why the authorities want to promote M1 cars. The price of Opel Corsa-e in Poland is below € 29,000 and Renault Zoe's price is around € 28,000. But it won't fit the Nissan Leaf (36,500 euros) or the future VW ID.3, not to mention the larger and more luxurious models.

Although a positive step, it has received more criticism, as experts point out that an electric car will only be able to buy more affluent customers again, since such a small electric car fits better as a second in the family. While customers who can afford only one car prefer a larger family car that can't fall below the 29,000-euro price range.