Car usage in North Macedonia is on constant rise, while people’s interest in using public transportation in urban settings is in huge decline, causing decline of numbers of passengers in the intercity trains and buses. The rate of the motorization in 2019 has reached 205.2 passenger vehicles to 1.000 citizens, even though in the previous decade, over 80% of what the Macedonian citizens had been buying most were imported pre-owned cars with very high numbers on the odometers.
As a result of the increased motorization rate, diesel fuel consumption in the road transport has increased threefold in a period of a decade and a half. In 2005, the vehicles in North Macedonia spent 182 075 tons of diesel, while in 2019, the total consumption was 569 143 tons. This enormous quantity of used diesel fuel comes in a period when the developed countries are setting deadlines on the sale of new vehicles running on fossil fuels, and in some cities, the use of diesel vehicles was banned altogether.
The Macedonian cities have enormous problems with air pollution, and there a number of researches on the role of the transportation in polluting the Skopje air. On the other hand, the motorization rate of the population in the EU member countries was over 500 cars to 1.000 citizens in 2018, which means that the number of passenger vehicles in North Macedonia will continue to grow in the future, by imports of used cars. But the key question is whether North Macedonia will remain a dump for used cars in the forthcoming years or the authorities in cooperation with the municipalities and the citizens would start working on increasing the percentage of vehicles which are not polluting the air?
No discounts for electric cars, their prices are too high
Meta.mk has already published the data provided by the Customs Administration on the quantities of imported electric and hybrid cars so far. As of 2020, so far in North Macedonia so far 3.345 hybrid cars and 134 electric cars were imported. At the same time, the share of new and pre-owned electric cars that were imported in the country from 2017 to 2020 is only 0.1% of the total imports of passenger motor vehicles. In the period before 2017, the number of imported electric cars in the country equals 0 according to the official customs statistics.
We also analysed the pricelists of the car dealers selling electric or hybrid vehicles. We came across a modest electric car at one of the sale centers, which sold at the price of around €15 000, which is identical to the value of an SUV vehicle from the same manufacturer, but with a more powerful engine and more passenger comfort. At another car dealer, the plug-in hybrid car from the same producer was €3 500 more expensive compared to the model running on gasoline. We weren’t able to find in North Macedonia a representative of the most famous producer of electric cars in the world – Tesla, but on the other hand in Croatia, where Tesla sells its models, we found array of vehicles, with the cheapest one selling at €42 200.
For a country that toward the end of 2020 had an average salary of €450, and the population’s poverty rate in 2019 was 21.9%, the purchase of electric cars at this price for most people compares with science fiction. Still, the advantages that the authorities provide for the stimulation of purchases of these types of vehicles are more than modest. But, with the new Law on taxing the motor vehicles that entered into force on 1st of January 2020, the electric cars exempted from paying a special tax for motor vehicles, while the hybrid vehicles are exempt from 50% of the tax.
What stimulus to purchase electric vehicles is needed?
Representatives of “E-mobility”, organization for electric vehicles in North Macedonia, state that they have submitted to the Macedonian government 23 proposals for measures that would stimulate the use of electric cars including light vehicles, railways and other public transportation in Macedonia. Among these, they are proposing taxation of diesel and gasoline fuels as well as strong subsidies for the purchase of light vehicles, that are much cheaper: electric scooters, kick scooters, and bicycles. For electric cars, E-mobility proposes a decrease of import payments, a system for replacement of old vehicles with new with a stimulus, lowered car registration expenses, free pay tolls, parking lots, but also subsiding the citizens that will convert their vehicle with
internal combustion engine with a vehicle using an electric motor.
E-mobility informs it shall send a letter to the Ministry of Finance and the Minister Fatmir Besimi to discard completely the hybrid vehicles from tax relief efforts and potential subsidies, and to treat these only as new vehicles with EURO 5 standard and higher.
“If the vehicle is treated as electric, the pollution must be minimal and the criterion of what an electric car is and what is branded as electric as a name, but is polluting even more, has to be separated in this country’s policies,” states E-Mobility for Meta.mk, stressing that the researches have shown that the plug-in hybrid vehicles are polluting even more than ordinary cars with internal combustion engines.
Even Assistant Professor Stevan Kjosevski of the Mother Theresa University in Skopje, with a PhD in decision making and creation of policies for the introduction of electric cars, says that the renewal of the car fleets should be a permanent policy for each country that is concentrating of maintenance of sustainable transportation within the frame of the general sustainable development. He says that North Macedonia relies on road vehicles and the transport as the bloodstream of the economic activities should be rapidly developed in the forthcoming period.
“The emission of particles and other matters towards the environment and the people (such as noise) from the classic cars is a serious threat upon people’s health and the living environment. Apart from the heavy vehicles, diesel fuel is used by a serious percentage of passenger vehicles in Macedonia. The joint problem for both categories of vehicles is that the issue is that it’s a very old car fleet where the spending fuel and the emission of harmful particles are much bigger than those of the modern vehicles with internal combustion engines,” said Stevan Kjosevski.
Kjosevski also said that if the relatively modest traffic outside of the urban areas is taken into account, compared to the economically developed countries, Macedonia, as a developing country, should expect this problem to increase in the future.
This is why he is proposing a package of measures that should be taken. On the one hand, the experiences of other countries stress the de-stimulation of using the oldest and the least ecologically friendly vehicles through the introduction of higher fees and on the other, stimulation for citizens for taking over these vehicles and their destruction.
Stevan Kjosevski stresses that in the last 5 years the European Union has been intensively dealing with the issue of introduction of electric cars through the European Environment Agency, the European Parliament, JRC – Joint Research Center, and other institutions. According to one of JRC studies, in 2030 around 15% of the passenger vehicles traversing the EU’s roads should be electric.
“The European Union has considerably been toughening the conditions for approval of vehicles with conventional internal combustion motors. especially regarding the gas emissions and the controls of their exploitation. This measure will additionally make pressure on the manufacturers to invest earlier and more in the development of electric vehicles,” said Kjosevski.
Advantages and disadvantages of the electric cars
Otherwise, the electric cars have many advantages and one important disadvantage – they are expensive. Against this, Kjosevski says that electric cars are less noisy, there are less vibrations, while the strength and the moment that the electric motor is delivering is more productive than the internal combustion engine i.e. it develops better performances than the classic vehicles. Seen from passenger’s angle, the electric drive is taking less space in the vehicle, which means there is more space for the passengers and the cargo.
Still, the experts warn there are controversial opinions about electric cars from an ecological aspect.
“The electric car has to be seen in its entire life cycle, where we have three phases. The first phase is the production of spare parts for electric cars, the second phase is during the driving of the electric car and the third phase is when the car isn’t used anymore, but it is necessary to recycle the parts and the materials it was manufactured with and it is thought of for example of the batteries. In all three phases, the energy is used, for the production, for driving, and recycling,” E-Mobility explains.
So, even within the ranks of the EU member countries, there is a great debate on the issue of whether the electrification of the car fleet will decrease or increase the negative influence on the environment.
Taking into account the air pollution, air in the cities will certainly be cleaner, but not in those countries and those locations where the electricity is produced by thermal power plants. More vehicles using the electric engine in those countries, such as North Macedonia will mean a greater need of producing electric energy out of coal. This is the reason why the introduction of electric cars should be adjusted with the whole of the “Strategy for Energy Development of the Republic of North Macedonia and a gradual termination of production of electricity out of coal in Macedonia.
“If electric energy is produced from fossil sources (thermal power station running on coal, mazut, and even gas) then the analyses show that electric cars have no environmental advantages compared to the overall influence on the planet, but it can help for reaching a more favorable distribution of emissions,” said Stevan Kjosevski.
E-Mobility predicts that in the period after 2025, the complete story of electric cars will become real and these vehicles will be available even for our conditions and standard. Stevan Kjosevski also says that the plans and prognosis of the biggest world manufacturers in the segment of massively built segments of cars should be followed.
“When big producers of these types of vehicles (the cheaper classes) will announce offers for electric and hybrid vehicles, as replacements for classic cars, then we can count that the prices will be approximately the same. So far, there aren’t any announcements for mass productions,” said Stevo Kosevski.
Positive examples from the developed countries
What the developed countries are doing at the moment is actively working on giving strict deadlines until when the sale of fossil fuel vehicles should be completely banned on their markets. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already announced that starting from 2030 the ban of sale of new vehicles using only fossil fuels will enter into force. The European Union has set a goal to increase the number of electric cars in the member countries to 30 million by 2030 . Norway has a strategy to ban completely the sale of gasoline or diesel using vehicles in the country no later than by 2025.
In North Macedonia, there was only one announcement by Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi that this year, the import of used cars below the EURO 5 standard will be banned. The Ministry of Economy briefly informed Meta.mk that with the annual state budget no assets were planned for subsidies for citizens to purchase electric cars.
Considering the municipalities, the Community of the Local Self-government Units (ZELS) explains that granting subsidies to citizens from the municipalities to acquire electric cars wasn’t discussed, but thatit is likelye it will be implemented in those cities that are taking an active approach in dealing with air pollution. Despite these measures would be isolated cases because of the municipalities’ weak financial powers, ZELS stressed for Meta.mk that the municipalities have other mechanisms that can be introduced to serve as stimulation such as fees, taxes, etc.
Some of the opportunities can be the free parking cards for electric cars and similar advantages or errecting battery chargers for free charging of vehicles throughout the municipalities, which was mainly offered by EVN Macedonia.
Official vehicles to run on electricity and why not?
Willing to give a positive example for the citizens, the new US President Joe Biden has made a decision to replace almost 650.000 official vehicles with a new fleet of electric cars. Positive examples such as this can be found in other developed countries, and only the City of Skopje in North Macedonia has made a step forward in this direction when it acquired 6 hybrid cars for the needs of the administration. Mayor Petre Shilegov promised back then all vehicles for the city’s administration that will be purchased in the future will have either electric or hybrid engines.
Apart from Skopje’s city authorities, an interest in providing a positive example with purchases of official vehicles with electric engine at the moment cannot be found elsewhere among the institutions in North Macedonia.
“The Government of the Republic of North Macedonia is taking into account this issue. The potential procurement for the Government’s fleet will be discussed with the end of the global crisis caused by the pandemic,” stated the Ministry of Economy for Meta.mk.
the Community of the Local Self-government Units (ZELS) stated for Meta.mk that as point the agenda at the ZELS’ Managing Board there wasn’t any discussion about the replacement of municipality official cars with electric cars.
Still, the data published by Meta.mk , show that even state institutions and municipality authorities continue to purchase official vehicles even during the covid crisis without any criteria on a national level whether such vehicle fleet should be electric or hybrid.
If an action isn’t started somewhere through decisive measures by the authorities, the import of electric cars in the country will remain to be equal to a statistical mistake, and the inflow of used cars from abroad o
If an action isn’t started somewhere through decisive measures on part of the authorities, the import of electric cars in the country will remain to be equal to a statistical mistake, and the inflow of used cars from abroad on our roads will continue in the future with the same tempo.
Author: Bojan Blaževski
