The Czech Republic has seen a surge in demand for electric vehicles (EVs) as business owners do not want to miss out on the opportunity to receive a state subsidy of up to 300,000 crowns for purchasing an electric vehicle and an additional 150,000 crowns for a charger. According to Martin Feller, the Commercial Director of Louda Auto, “The number of requests for fully electric vehicles has tripled year-on-year in January.”
This trend is confirmed by the Executive Director of TipCars.com, Marek Knieža. Based on search statistics on their website, he stated that there is significant interest in these vehicles from businesses and firms. The number of searches for electric vehicles with the possibility of VAT deduction has almost tripled year-on-year in January.
As part of the ‘Electric Mobility Guarantee’ initiative, businesses and firms can apply for support of 200,000 crowns for a personal car and up to 300,000 crowns for a commercial vehicle up to 4.25 tons from March. The car must not cost more than 1.5 million crowns, excluding VAT. Many electric vehicles, such as the Škoda Enyaq and Tesla Y or Model 3, comfortably fit this price range.
Despite the growing interest, Feller points out that the numbers are not astronomical. He said, “We are still talking about single or tens of inquiries for each of our twelve brands of new electric vehicles.” Subsidies are intended for new cars up to six months from being put into operation, with a maximum mileage of 6000 kilometers.
David Nerad, the manager for electromobility at Louda Auto, reveals that the most searched electric model is the Škoda Enyaq, which had an excess of demand over supply even last year. This is followed by ID from Volkswagen and ionic from Hyundai. The cheapest electric car on the market is the Dacia Spring.