The Ministry for National Economy (NGM) plans to increase the number of electric cars in Hungary through tax incentives and support. The package of measures, bearing the name of the world-famous inventor-engineer Ányos Jedlik, is currently being prepared at the Ministry, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said at a press conference in Budapest.

As the Minister said, any project furthering the realization of the Jedlik Programme, let it be investment, development or research, will be financed from EU resources. In addition to the currently available car registration tax incentive the package will contain some other car tax allowances as well. These will be discussed with local governments, as most of such taxes flow into the budget of municipalities.

Among the plans Mihály Varga mentioned that environmentally friendly cars will probably be allowed to use the bus lane or to park free of charge. Those who exchange their cars that are older than 15 years for an electric one might receive bonus points with which the owner could purchase other environmentally-friendly products at preferential prices, he added as an option.

Moreover, in certain public procurement procedures the purchasing of electric cars by the police or postal service providers would be given priority. The Minister stressed that he would welcome more electric taxis in Budapest. Finally, the Ministry will propose carbon-dioxide quotas to be swapped for programmes promoting electric cars.

The Ministry also intends to increase the number of public electric charging points and home chargers until 2020. He emphasised that several programmes in Great Britain are offering significant incentives for popularizing home chargers.

As the Minister said, the programme was named after Ányos Jedlik, as he was the first in 1828 to develop and apply for a patent of an electric car.  “True,” the Minister remarked, “we did not excel in production, but we were present at the inception.”

Mihály Varga stressed that the Government has already made a number of decisions aiming to popularize electric cars; between 2010 and 2013, for example, 11 projects were granted funding of HUF 2.1bn. This transport option was also supported by tax incentives, as electric cars are exempt from the registration tax and only HUF 76 thousand must be paid for hybrid cars.

It is important to promote the use of environmentally friendly vehicles, he added, because Hungary shall fall in line with the plans of the European Union. This EU policy set the goal of having 4 million electric cars on European roads until 2030.

The objective of the Ministry for National Economy is to have as many as 68 thousand electric car charging points until 2020. “I am quite certain that the amount of electricity required for the programme will be available,” Mihály Varga stated. He added that the Government aspires to draw into the production and development of cars and chargers as many Hungarian and foreign companies which are active in Hungary as possible.

Elektromotive Hungaria Ltd CEO Péter Tarnoy said that in order to make the use of electric cars more widespread it is crucial to have a safe and extensive network of charging points. He added that these must be rapid chargers capable of fully charging cars within minutes, instead of devices with charging time of 6-8 hours.  In Ireland, rapid chargers can be found at every 30 miles and there 200 such devices installed in Estonia. He stressed that in Western Europe 80-90 percent of car owners use cheap night rate electricity, thus utilizing electric power off-peak.

In the near future, charging points will be set up along motorways, at Tatabánya, Bábolna, Gyöngyös, Miskolc, Kecskemét, Debrecen, Győr, Kaposvár, Zalaegerszeg, Balatonmáriafürdő and of course in Budapest, in the first and ninth districts. In the project, Nissan and E.On are the main partners of the project managers.

(Ministry for National Economy)