The government aims for all new cars bought in Cyprus to be electric by 2035, spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said.

He said the current target entails 25 per cent of new cars registered in the country to be fully electric in 2030, with a view to all newly registered vehicles being fully electric five years later.

To achieve that aim, he said, the government is to present a plan for the promotion of electric vehicles.

The plan will be presented by Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades on Thursday and will aim to “promote the purchase of vehicles with zero or low emissions and the use of alternative modes of transportation.”

This, Letymbiotis said, will help “achieve a reduction in the environmental impact of transport, and specifically the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and gaseous pollutants.”

But statistics he presented from the last four years show a definite upward trend that are far from the government goals.

A total of 1,322 electric vehicles were registered in Cyprus 2023 – a mere 2.91 per cent of the total number of new vehicles registered.

This figure represents a significant increase on the 739 electric vehicles registered in 2022 and the 308 registered in 2021, a trend the government described as “skyrocketing”. Letymbiotis did admit, however, that the figures are “far removed” from their aims.

Aiming to further increase the number of electric vehicles bought, the government announced a budget of €36 million for the subsidy of electric vehicle purchases.

People with disabilities and families with many children will be eligible for subsidies of up to €15,000 for a low-carbon emissions vehicle, and up to €20,000 for a zero-emissions vehicle.

Meanwhile, taxi drivers will be eligible for subsidies of up to €20,000 for the purchase of a zero-emissions taxi.

Letymbiotis said the government expects that “further impetus will be given to the penetration of low-emissions and zero-emissions vehicles into the fleet of vehicles circulating in Cyprus.”