3 electric car incentives you need to know in Europe

As we're approaching the end of 2018, you've only got a few months left to take advantage of some of the best incentives you can claim for your (first) electric car! We've listed the top three EV incentives per country here.

Latest update: August 2018

Belgium

Though not much of an early adopter, Belgium is catching up rapidly. In 2016, the number of electric car sales in Belgium almost tripled, and the number of EV charging stations grew by 350% as compared to 2015. Here are a few of the EV incentives you could be missing out on:

• Purchase grant: €4.000 grant in Flanders for private car owners. (More details)
• Ownership tax: Fully electric vehicles are exempt from any ownership taxes in Flanders. The other two regions (Walloon and Brussels) pay a total of €138,85 in ownership taxes. (More details)
• Company car tax: 120% for fully electric cars (starting 2020—100%), and 100% for plug-in hybrid vehicles emitting between 1 and 60 g/km of CO2 deductible from company expenses. Above 60 g/km, the deductibility rate decreases from 90% to 50%. (More details)

Living in Belgium? You can find the highest number of public charging stations in Antwerp, Brussels, & Ghent. Prefer a charging station at home or at work? We do too. Check out our EV charging solutions here.

France

France made tremendous gains in electric car numbers over the past few years. Going from less than 10,000 registered electric vehicles in 2012, to over 115,000 in 2017.

• Purchase grant: If you buy a fully electric car in France, you’re eligible for a €6.000 "thank you for saving the earth" grant. If you swap your old diesel car (older than 2001) or your old gasoline car (older than 1997), you’re eligible for a €2.500 “thank-you for switching to electric” grant. This means that in total, you can get €8.500 off of your purchase! For a plug-in hybrid, you're eligible to receive a €1.000 grant. (More details)
• Registration tax: Both fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are eligible for, either a 50% discount, or are fully exempt from paying a license plate registration (carte grise) depending on the region. (More details)
• Company car tax: Fully electric vehicles are exempt from this tax. (More details)

Living in France? Your best bet in finding a public charging station is in the Southwest of France. Prefer charging at home or at work? We do too. Check out our residential EV charging stations here.

UK

The UK government pledged a £290m sum to boost the EV industry, of which £80m is dedicated to increasing the number of charging stations for electric vehicles across the country.

• Purchase grant: The Plug-In Car Grant covers 35% of the cost of an electric car (up to a maximum of £4,500 depending on the model) and 20% of the cost of a van, up to a maximum of £8,000. This is without doubt the most important incentive for private vehicles in the UK. In some cases, it can reduce the total cost of electric vehicles below the cost of conventional cars! (More details)
• Ownership tax: Fully electric vehicles that cost less than £40,000 are exempt from the annual road tax. (More details)
• Company car tax: (Plug-in) electric cars emitting less than 50g/km of CO2 have their company car tax set at only 9% for 2017-18, 13% in 2018-19, and 16% in 2019-20. The tax on any diesel company car is 4-8% higher. (More details)

Living in the UK? Most of the public charging stations are located in Glasgow and the North East. Prefer charging at home or at work? We do too. Get up to 75% off of the installation of your own EV charging station at home or in your workplace with the OLEV grant. This equals up to £500 (incl. VAT) per household / eligible vehicle! Request a charging station here.

Germany

Home to the most beloved combustion engine car manufacturers, Germany has been the slowest of the bunch in pushing pro electric car plans. But as of last year, the country has adopted an incentive and investment program to encourage the switch to plug-in hybrids. Additionally, the German government has backed the push for a Europe-wide ban on combustion engine vehicles by 2030.

• Purchase grant: €4,000 for fully electric vehicles and €3,000 euros for plug-in hybrids. The grant applies only to electric cars with a maximum list price of €60,000. (More details)
• Ownership tax: 10 year exemption for fully electric vehicles registered between 2011 and 2020. PHEVs pay the tax, which is lowered in proportion to the EV's CO2 emission level.
• Company car tax: 0.5% over the discounted car (battery) price for both fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids. In addition, there's a €250/kW (up to €7.500) discount on the list price of fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids in 2018. (More details) Keep in mind that, in reality, this is not a tax, but a flat-rate correction based on the decreasing list prices of EVs in the next years—all to ensure fair competition in the German car market. The correction will be a €50 decrease every year. This means by 2022, you'll get a €50/kW (up to €5,500) discount on the list price. (More details)

Living in Germany? Stuttgart is your best bet for finding a public charging station! Prefer charging at home or at work? We do too. Request your very own EV charging station here.

Norway

Norway’s original goal was to have 100,000 EVs on the road by 2020. As of last year, Norway already exceeded this number with more than 121,000 electric vehicles on Norwegian roads. Quite impressive for its relatively small population of just 6 million.

• Purchase tax: No purchase tax and no VAT on purchase. (More details)
• Ownership tax: NOK 455 is the annual road tax for both fully-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, as opposed to NOK 2.820 for petrol and NOK 3.290 for diesel cars. (More details)
• Company car tax: 50% discount for both fully-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. (More details)

Living in Norway? Bergen and Oslo have the highest number of public charging stations. Prefer charging at home or at work? We do too. Check out our EV charging stations here.

The Netherlands

The Netherlands is planning to phase out all internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. The country has
 the highest ratio of public charging stations to electric vehicles. According to studies, 47% of Dutch drivers often or always charge their EV at work.

• Purchase tax: Fully electric vehicles and PHEVs are both exempt from this tax. PHEVs will need to pay additional fees based on the amount of CO2 emitted. (More details)
• Ownership tax: Fully electric vehicles are exempt from this tax, while PHEVs get a 50% discount. High CO2 emitting vehicles that are +12 years old, will need to pay another 15% on top of the tax starting in 2019. (More details)
• Company car tax: 4% for fully electric vehicles only, 22% for both PHEVs and high CO₂emitting vehicles. (More details)

Driving in the Netherlands? Public charging stations are all over the place! Most of them are located in Amsterdam and Utrecht. Prefer charging at home or at work? We do too. Learn more about our residential EV charging stations here.

Sweden

Sweden is investing heavily in charging infrastructure and the promotion of sustainable vehicles. Take a look below to see how you can navigate the Swedish incentives jungle.

The ‘Super environment-friendly car’ Grant was replaced on July 1, 2018, by a ‘bonus malus-system,’ where environmentally friendly vehicles with relatively low emissions of max 60g CO₂/km are eligible for a grant. Every EV owner can get a premium worth up to 60,000 SEK (approx. 6,000 euros). This is available for both individuals and businesses. The bonus is given at a maximum of 25% of the EV's (new) purchase price. You can calculate your bonus here.

’Klimatklivet’ is an investment incentive for local and regional projects which aim to reduce CO₂ emissions. All types of organizations, companies, municipalities, foundations and associations (such as housing associations) can seek investment support from ‘Klimatklivet’ for charging stations. The grant covers up to 50% of the investment and is divided into two categories; non-public (built on an individual parking lot) and publicly available charging stations. The grant is given four times a year. Find the application periods here. ‘Klimatklivet’ is exclusively designed for businesses and public associations. For individuals, there's a ‘Charge at Home’ incentive.

The ’Charge at Home’ Incentive is granted to individuals who own private property with ‘a right to use’, meaning that you have the right to install a charging station. The grant can be given up to six months after the station is installed and covers 50% of the cost of the charging station and installation. Please note that each contribution is limited to 10.000 SEK per property.

Living in Sweden? Your best bet for finding a public charging station is in Stockholm, Skåne, and Västra Götaland. Prefer charging at home or at work? We do too. Request a charging station here.

Excited? There are plenty of perks too.

The incentives listed in this article are defined by each country’s government and are implemented nationwide. However, many cities have taken a step further to get their citizens behind the wheel of an EV. This means that on top of your usual financial incentives, your electric car may be eligible for extra perks, depending on the city you live in or commute to:

• Free public parking
• Exemption from toll charges
• Access to HOV lanes and bus lanes
• Exemption from ferry fees
• Free charging at public charging stations

You get a car. And you get a car. Everybody, go get an electric car!

Sources:
EAFO / OLEV UK Government Grant / Eurostat Statistics Explained / Norwegian EV association / ICCT / RVO / EV Norway

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