Cyprus has opened the fourth phase of its electric vehicle incentive scheme, signalling both heightened public interest in electric mobility and the ongoing challenges in meeting national targets. Applications will be accepted from 5 to 9 December, with the Road Transport Department highlighting key procedural changes aimed at transparency and fairness.
For the first time, if applications exceed the available number of grants, beneficiaries will be selected through a public lottery. Road Transport Department officer Angelos Sofocleous told CyBC and Alpha Enimerosi that the new process is designed to manage the high volume of interest, which consistently outstrips the scheme’s funding capacity.
A new requirement has also been introduced. Applicants drawn in the lottery will undergo checks to confirm they have no outstanding debts to state services such as Taxation or Social Insurance. Those with arrears will have eight working days to settle them. Failure to do so will result in exclusion, with the next eligible applicant on the list taking their place. The department underlined that the procedure will be conducted with full transparency.
A total of 520 grants will be offered during this phase, covering only zero-emission vehicles. The categories include new private-use electric cars (€9,000 grant, 380 places), vehicles for disabled users (€20,000, 40 places), support for large families (€20,000, 40 places), used electric vehicles imported from abroad (€9,000, 50 places) and N-1 commercial vehicles (€15,000, 10 places).
Sofocleous urged the public to submit their applications within the specified window and reminded prospective buyers that applications do not receive automatic preliminary approval. Orders for vehicles should only be placed once confirmation has been issued.
Despite sustained incentives, Cyprus remains far from its national goal of 80,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030. According to Sofocleous, the budget for the current scheme is close to depletion, although discussions are already progressing on additional rounds of financial support.
He noted that uncompleted grants from the third call will be transferred to the fourth call, specifically within category D-5, and assigned to the next eligible applicants on the priority list.