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Purchase of New Electric Vehicles - 2024

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IMPORTANT NOTICE
This Grant Scheme for the Purchase of New Electric Vehicles shall apply ONLY for vehicles registered and licensed in Malta by 31st December 2024, or ordered by the 28th of October 2024.

New Electric Vehicles registered in Malta in 2025 which were ordered after the 28th of October 2024 shall be eligible for the grant Scheme that will be announced and applied to 2025.

The information included in this page is meant to provide information about this incentive scheme, without prejudice to any provision in the respective scheme as published on the government gazzette, downloadable here.

Quick Links

To apply for the grant, follow the links below.

 Type of Applicant State Aid Rules   Links to Forms
  • Natural Person
  • Voluntary Organisation not carrying out an economic activity.
Not applicable
  • Business Undertaking, including Sole Traders.
  • Voluntary Organisation carrying out an economic activity
De minimis
GBER

*For guidance on applying for this grant, kindly refer to this brochure

IMPORTANT: Read and understand the Scheme Conditions explained in this webpage before applying.

The Incentive Details

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This financial incentive intends to further promote the use of new electric vehicles in Category L, M and N and pedelecs, and is aimed at:

  • Persons residing in Malta;
  • Voluntary organisations (including NGOs); and
  • Undertakings established in Malta (excluding those which are controlled directly or indirectly by the Government of Malta or funded through public funds).

The Ultimate Beneficiary Owner of the applicant shall be considered as the ultimate beneficiary of any grant issued under these financial incentives.

For a comparison of the average price to drive 100km with an electric vehicle and with a conventional vehicle, check here

This incentive allows a mix and match of purchase of new electric vehicles and pedelecs, and replacement of old vehicles. The grant shall support the purchase of new:

  • Passenger cars;
  • Goods carrying vehicles;
  • Minibuses;
  • Coaches;
  • Quadricycle;
  • Motorcycles; and
  • Pedelecs.

The grant includes a scrappage scheme intended to provide further financial support to applicants who, while purchasing and registering a new electric vehicle or pedelec, deregister a vehicle of any category which is at least 10 years old from its year of manufacture.

The budgeted funds for this scheme amount to €15,000,000.

Grant Calculations

Incentives to be paid after the registration a new electric vehicle or pedelec by a person, voluntary organisation or business undertaking under the De Minimis State Aid Rules*
Type of Vehicle Grant Amount
Pedelecs €500 per vehicle.
Cargo Pedelecs
L1e-A/B - Powered cycles & Two-wheel mopeds
L3e-A1/A2 - Low & Medium performance motorcycle
L4e-A1/A2 - Low & Medium performance two-wheel motorcycle with side-car
€2,000 per vehicle, but not more than 80% of the selling price.
L2e - Three-wheel mopeds;
L3e-A3 - High-performance motorcycle;
L4e-A3 - High-performance two-wheel motorcycle with side-car.
L5e - Powered Tricycles.
L6e - Light quadricycles or quadri-mobile.
L7e - Heavy quadricycles or quadri-mobiles
25% of CIF, capped at €6,000 per vehicle; minimum €2,000.
M1 - Car
N1 - Vans
€11,000 per vehicle.
M2 - Minibus
N2 - Small Truck
40% of selling price, capped at €70,000 per vehicle.
M3 - Coaches
N3 - Trucks
Grants for these vehicles may only be issued under GBER (refer to next section)

NOTE 1: CIF value refers to the Cost, Insurance and Freight Value, as indicated in the respective invoice.
NOTE 2: Invoice value is the value of the vehicle being registered, as indicated in the respective invoice.

Grant amounts according to the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER)**
Size of Single Undertaking Small Enterprise¢ Medium Enterprise¥  Large Enterprise§
 Basic Incentive as Percentage of Investment Cost 60% 50% 30%

¶The difference between the cost of the new electric vehicle and that of an equivalent conventional vehicle.
¢‘small enterprise’ means an enterprise which employs fewer than 50 persons and whose annual turnover and/or annual balance sheet total does not exceed 10 million Euro;
¥‘medium enterprise’ means an enterprise which employs fewer than 250 persons and which has an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million Euro, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding 43 million Euro, and which is not a small enterprise.
§‘large enterprise’ means an enterprise which is not a medium or small enterprise.
 

Incentives to be paid when a vehicle which is at least 10 years old is scrapped in conjunction with any other grant for the purchase of an electric vehicle. 
Category of Scrapped Vehicle Place of Registration of Scrapped Vehicle 
 Malta Gozo µ
 L (Motorcycles)  €500  €500
 M1 (Car) or N1 (Van)  €1,000  €2,000
 M2 (Minibus)  €30,000  €31,000
 N2 (Small Truck)  €15,000  €16,000
 M3 (Coach)  €50,000  €51,000
 N3 (Truck)  €25,000  €26,000

 

µ For a vehicle to be eligible for the extra scrappage grant, the following conditions apply:

  • The bank account identified for the transfer of the grant has to be related to an address in Gozo; AND
  • Vehicle must have been registered, garaged, or licensed on an address in Gozo prior to the 11th of October 2021; AND
  • Vehicle must have been registered, garaged, or licensed on an address in Gozo on the day when it was scrapped; BUT
  • The address in Gozo prior to 11th October 2021 does not have to be the same as the address in Gozo on the date of scrappage.

 

NOTE 1: The Scrapped Vehicle must be licensed with Transport Malta in the name of the applicant before its destruction and before the registration of the new electric vehicle or, in the case of pedelecs, before the date of purchase.
NOTE 2: Incentives for vehicles scrapped by undertakings established in Malta or voluntary organisations which carry out any economic activity within the meaning of Article 107 TFEU shall be regulated by the De Minimis Rules* in all cases, even if included in an application under the General Block Exemption Regulation**.
NOTE 3: To be eligible for this scrappage scheme, the deregistered vehicle shall be from the same or smaller category as the new Electric Vehicle being registered. However, when an applicant registers a new category L vehicle, the applicant may deregister a vehicle from category L or M1 or N1 and still be eligible for the scrappage scheme grant.
NOTE 4: Deregistered vehicles which had benefitted from the provisions of S.L.65.24 shall not be eligible for this scrappage scheme.
NOTE 5: Vehicles must be scrapped at Authorised Treatment Facilities approved in compliance with the Waste Management (End of Life) Regulations – S.L.549.36. Destruction Certificates issued must be dated 2023 or 2024.
NOTE 6: Applications for scrappage scheme submitted without the destruction certificate for the scrapped vehicle will be disregarded and the final grant amount will be calculated without the scrappage grant.

GENERAL NOTE 1: Grants will be paid out via bank transfer to the bank account indicated in the application form. Applicants are required to submit evidence that such bank account is held by themselves, solely or jointly, or by a spouse in the same household. Grants cannot be paid to bank accounts held by third parties.

GENERAL NOTE 2: Incentives applicable for special purpose vehicles (SP1) shall be established based on the vehicle’s maximum permissible mass and the corresponding limits for Category N vehicles.

GENERAL NOTE 3: The total grant issued to applicants for any of these incentives shall not exceed the purchase price of the new electric vehicle or pedelec.

Choosing between De minimis* and GBER**

Undertakings (i.e. companies, partnerships, cooperatives, sole-traders, voluntary organisations with an economic activity and any othwer business organisation) may submit applications under this scheme in accordance with 2 different state-aid rules - the DeMinimis* and GBER**. The grant calculations and related details for these 2 options are explained above.

Which undertakings should apply under the De Minimis Rules*?

The DeMinimis rules set a threshold to the public funds that any single undertaking may receive as state aid, from any public entity in Malta, over a period of 3 years. The applicable threshold depends on the economic sector, as listed below:

  • Agriculture: €20,000
  • Fisheries and Aquaculture: €30,000;
  • Any other sector: €300,000.

Applicant undertakings may apply under the DeMinimis State Aid Rules if:

  • They have not yet received or applied for grants or other public funds to approach or exceed the applicable threshold; and
  • The grant(s) for which they are applying will not cause them to exceed the applicable threshold. 

Ap are not fixed, as in the case of De Minimis*, but need to be calculated as explained in the previous section.

Applications under the GBER rules shall be submitted in 2 parts:

  • VEH057B-1 following the order of the electric vehicle, following which Transport Malta shall issue a Grant Reservation Notice if application is considered to be eligible; and
  • VEH057B-2 following the registration of the same vehicle.

Applying for this Incentive

Applications by persons and applications under the De Minimis State Aid Rules* for New Electric Vehicles

  • Applications shall be submitted after the new electric vehicles is registered through the online eform VEH057A along with any information, details and documents required therein.
  • You will need to use your eID to access this form and submit an application.
    • If you do not have an eID yet, you can visit the offices of Identita’ in Blata l-Bajda or Rabat, Gozo to apply for it.
    • If you already have an eID but need help to access the service, you can contact Identita’ on 25904300 during office hours or via email on infoeid.identita@gov.mt.
  • To access the eForm, following this link
  • The purchaser of the vehicle shall be considered as the ultimate applicant in terms of this scheme.
  • In the case of an application submitted by businesses, including sole-traders, within the scope of the De Minimis State Aid rules, the following are also needed:
    • the State Aid Declaration VEH071 signed by a warranted auditor shall be uploaded to the eForm;
    • a copy of the Company Registration Certificate or, in the case of sole traders, a copy of the VAT Certificate; AND
    • In the case of a company whose shares, fully or partially, are held by one or more other companies - A UBO certificate, which may be ordered from the Malta Business Registry (MBR) on legal.enforcement@mbr.mt;
    • In the case of a company whose shares are all owned by one or more natural persons - A GSD certificate, which may be ordered from the Malta Business Registry (MBR) on orders.mbr@mbr.mt;
  • In the case of an application submitted concerning a pedelec or a cargo pedelec, the following supporting documents shall be uploaded to the eForm:
    • Invoice;
    • Fiscal Vat Receipt;
    • Technical Specification and CE Declaration/Certificate;
    • Technical Inspection Form issued following the compulsory inspection of the pedelec by Transport Malta’s Technical Unit at our offices in Paola.

Applications submitted by by a voluntary organisation or business undertaking under the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER)**

  • Applications to reserve a grant shall be submitted by the purchaser after the new electric vehicles is ordered by submitting paper application form VEH057B-1 and any information, details and documents required therein.
  • The Financial Health Declaration VEH074 signed by.a warranted auditor must also be submitted at this stage.
  • Following the receipt of a Grant Reservation Notification from Transport Malta and the registration of the electric vehicle, the applicant shall then request the payment of the grant by submitting paper application VEH057B-2 and any information, details and documents required therein.
  • The purchaser of the vehicle shall be considered as the ultimate applicant in terms of this scheme.
  • The forms, fully filled in and signed, and accompanied by all required supporting documents, may be submitted at the offices of Transport Malta in Poala, Ħal Lija or Gozo. For office hours and address refer here.

Refund Policy

Any new electric vehicle or pedelec purchased by the applicant under this grant shall remain registered in the applicant’s name for a period of at least thirty-six (36) months from the date of first registration.

If the owner of a new electric vehicle or pedelec on which a grant has been issued under this scheme transfers the said vehicle before the expiry of the above-mentioned period, then that person shall refund the grant received from Transport Malta.

The refund mentioned above shall not be required in the following circumstances:

  • When the transfer mentioned therein is a transfer causa mortis to an heir or to a third party or transfer inter vivos in favour of spouses, ascendants, and direct collaterals.
  • When the transfer involves an electric vehicle purchased under this grant which is declared to be unrepairable following an accident or for any other reason and is replaced by a new electric vehicle, in which case the conditions related to this grant shall be transferred to the electric vehicle replacing the original one. The three years restriction shall apply from the date of registration of the original new electric vehicle.
  • When the transfer involves an electric vehicle purchased under this grant which is returned to the original agent or dealer for any reason, and where the agent or dealer accepts to replace the said electric vehicle with a new electric vehicle, in which case the conditions related to this grant shall be transferred to the electric vehicle replacing the original one. The three years restriction shall apply from the date of registration of the original new electric vehicle.
  • When an undertaking is struck off from within a single undertaking and the vehicle is transferred to another undertaking within the same single undertaking, from one undertaking to another having one common director or transferred from an undertaking to one of the directors in his name.

When an electric vehicle purchased under this grant is returned to the original agent or dealer for any reason, and the agent or dealer does not replace it with a new electric vehicle but refunds the applicant with all or part of the price paid for the new electric vehicle, or replaces it with a vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine, the applicant shall refund part of the grant received for the new electric vehicle depending on the period elapsed from the purchase of the vehicle and its return to the agent, as listed below:

  1. Less than 12 months: 75%;
  2. More than 12 months but less than 24 months: 50%;
  3. More than 24 months but less than 36 months: 25%.
     

In the eventuality that a new electric vehicle on which a grant is issued under this scheme is involved in an accident following which it has to be scrapped, no refund shall be required from the applicant, as long as the vehicle is not transferred to a third party before it is scrapped and deregistered.

For all above cases, the transaction(s) of vehicles and, where applicable, funds, shall be certified by means of a formal document describing the transaction(s), signed by all parties involved and countersigned by a notary. Document shall be submitted to the Authority for approval.

General Information

In the case of new electric vehicle registered in 2023 for which no application for a grant was submitted, the new 2024 application form must be used.

A licensed dealer or car agent purchasing any of these vehicles for showroom and sales purposes may apply for the grant but on re-selling such vehicle, the buyer will not be eligible for any grant, including the used grant.

Paper applications under this scheme, in relation to applications under the GBER State Aid rules, together with all the relevant documents, shall be submitted by the applicant during working hours or mailed to Transport Malta’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Unit (DVLU). For opening hours and addresses refer here.

*Depending on the sector of activity of the applicant, the De Minimis rules stipulated in Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1408/2013, Commission Regulation (EU) No. 717/2014 or Commission Regulation (EU) No. 2023/2831 shall apply.
**Commission Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty, as amended.

Page last updated: 18/12/2024