Electric vehicle charger in Skopje; Photo: Meta.mk’s photo archive
North Macedonia’s budget for 2023 does not provide financial resources for subsidies to the purchase of hybrid and electric vehicles, although such a promise was made by the Macedonian government at the end of 2018. On 15th November 2018, the Government promised to introduce subsidies for purchasing electric and hybrid vehicles, with implementation deadlines in 2019 and 2020, as one of the measures for reducing air pollution from transport. This promise is also stated in the Air Pollution Reduction Program of the Government of the RNM and it is unfulfilled to date.
On 15 November 2018, the Macedonian government presented the plan and the Air Pollution Reduction Program, whose implementation was supposed to become a strategic priority of the Government from 2019. Page 4 of the Air Pollution Reduction Programme specifies implementation for 2019 and 2020 in all segments.
On page 6 of the Air Pollution Reduction Programme, amendments to the Law on Vehicles are foreseen, which, among other things, provision for introduction of subsidies for purchasing electric and hybrid vehicles.
On 10 November 2018, together with the Program for subsidizing the purchase of new hybrid and electric vehicles, the Deputy Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning at the time, Jani Makraduli, announced the subsidies for citizens in the amount of €5,000 in MKD equivalent, for purchasing electric vehicles and €3,000 in MKD equivalent for purchasing hybrid vehicles. As he announced, in the first year, 200 subsidies for vehicles were planned.
Despite the promise made in the Air Pollution Reduction Program and the statements given by government officials, the announced subsidies for hybrid and electric vehicles had not seen the light of the day in the period from 2019 up to date.
The Ministry of Economy said for Meta.mk that the central budget for 2023 does not provide subsidies for citizens who plan to purchase hybrid or electric vehicles.
Asked why the announced subsidies were not projected, the Ministry of Economy pointed the finger at the Parliament of the Republic of North Macedonia.
“According to the announcement in 2018, the Ministry of Economy in 2019 developed the Draft Law for Amending and Supplementing the Law on Vehicles which provided for a subsidy program for purchasing electric vehicles”. The draft law was amended in the parliamentary procedure and the Program for subsidizing the purchase of electric vehicles was extracted,” the Ministry of Economy said.
It explains that this year as well they had submitted a Draft-Initiative to the Government for the Annual Work Program for 2023 (“Program for subsidizing the purchase of new hybrid and electric vehicles for 2023”), hoping that the Law on Vehicles will be amended and the mentioned Program for subsidizing the purchase of hybrid and electric vehicles will be incorporated within.
“The Program earmarked funds in the amount of MKD 240,000,000 to provide subsidies in the amount of €3,000 in MKD equivalent for purchasing hybrid vehicles, and the amount of €5,000 Euros in MKD equivalent for purchasing electric vehicles”, the Ministry of Economy explains.
In February 2021 Meta.mk wrote about the use of electric vehicles in the country, and then the media pointed out that the only benefit for the citizens with the new Motor Vehicle Tax Law that entered into force on 1 January 2020 was that the electric vehicles were exempt from a special tax on motor vehicles, while 50% of the tax were exempted for the hybrid vehicles.
Taking into account the fact that the Air Pollution Reduction Program stated that all the mentioned measures will be implemented in 2019 and 2020 in all segments, including the measure of introducing subsidies for the purchase of electric and hybrid vehicles in the country, we can conclude that this government promise is unfulfilled up to date.
SOURCES
–Air Pollution Reduction Program of the Government of the RNM, checked 20.12.2022;
-Website of the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning (10.11.2018): With the new Law on Vehicles, environmental stickers and subsidies are introduced for electric and hybrid vehicles, checked 20.12.2022;
-Website of the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning (15.11.2018): Makraduli: The plan for clean air is a strategic priority of the Government of Republic of Macedonia for joint action and a healthy future, checked 20.12.2022;
-Meta.mk (24.2.2021): Everyone is talking about air pollution, but hardly anyone uses electric vehicles, checked 20.12.202.
