The development of electromobility in Montenegro has been on an upward trajectory in the last few years. There are more and more electric and hybrid vehicles on the streets, and subsidies from the Eko fond (Environmental Protection Fund) contribute to this to a large extent. At the beginning of July, for the third year in a row, they announced three public calls for subsidizing the purchase of electric and hybrid vehicles for individuals, business people and the public sector. Draško Boljević, executive director of the Eko fond, points out that more and more requests for subsidies are coming to their address.
– This is an indicator that our efforts have been recognized, and we are particularly pleased by the fact that the number of interested people is growing year by year, and more and more requests for subsidies are arriving at our address, which means that the budget we have at our disposal is being spent to the maximum—says Boljević.
For this year, the budget for subsidies amounts to 399,242 euros. 99,243 euros were set aside for users who are natural persons for certain categories, 100,000 euros for the economy and entrepreneurs, and 200,000 euros for the public sector The fact that during the first ten days of the competition, 35 requests arrived shows great interest in the funds. The public competition for natural persons, the economy, and entrepreneurs is open until the funds are used up, and for the public sector, the deadline is November 31, 2023.
The subsidy amount for the L-category electric vehicles ranges from 400 to 1,500 euros per vehicle. For electric vehicles of categories M1 and N1, the subsidies amount to 5,000 euros, while for hybrid vehicles (plug-in and full hybrid), the subsidies amount to 2,500 euros. – In previous years, and I hope it will be the same this year, allocated funds were distributed to the last cent, and I expect it will be the same this year as well. I sincerely hope that the funds we allocated will be sufficient and that we can fulfil all the requests that come to us—adds our interlocutor. It is a fact that more and more electric cars are driven in Montenegro, but the numbers are not so impressive. According to our interlocuter’s estimate, based on his information, there are around 500 electric and hybrid cars in Montenegro.
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– Unfortunately, we do not have accurate data on how many hybrids and fully electric cars there are. Eko fond’s experiences show that the relationship between hybrids and electric cars is slowly leveling off. In the first year of subsidy allocation, it was in favor of hybrid cars, and now we are getting to the point where the ratio is 50/50—concludes Boljević.
Network development and subsidies for chargers
The rapid development of electromobility must be accompanied by appropriate infrastructure, primarily the network of chargers. In Montenegro, according to Draško, this area is not legally regulated. Owners of electric cars are forced to fend for themselves, charging their vehicles at their chargers if they have them and using some that are public. While they are waiting for this area to be legally regulated, the Eko fond team is planning to allocate some of the subsidies for the purchase of chargers for electric vehicles. If everything goes according to plan, a competition for chargers should be announced by the end of the year. In this way, they want to complete the story by subsidizing the electric car and the charger.
Prepared by: Milica Radičević
Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine ELECTROMOBILITY.
