The Ministry of Information and Technology held a press conference on Monday afternoon about a new program to encourage the purchase of electric cars, launched on Monday. The budget is five billion forints and up to 2.5 million forints can be received.
According to Dr. Péter Kaderják, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Policy, the interest of both the traders and the buyers exceeded the expectations of the Ministry. The interest of dealers is well characterized by the fact that the offer of cars under HUF 11 million consisted of only 7 types at the time of the tender announcement, but this number increased to 15 on the day the tender started, wrote Villanyautosok.hu .
On 10 June, the tender conditions were amended, for example, the minimum expected battery size for mopeds was reduced from the previous 48 V 42 Ah (corresponding to 2016 Wh) to a clearer 1800 Wh. The condition relating to the compulsory casco insurance of scooters remained in the tender, but it was agreed with the insurers that there would be such a product on the market.
Potential buyers have already submitted 900 applications, according to early afternoon data. There is strong interest in all categories, ie cars, taxis and scooters, but the greatest demand is among taxi drivers. According to the data before the press conference, the amount applied for has already exceeded HUF 4 billion of the available budget of HUF 5 billion.
Due to the huge interest, they may soon be forced to suspend the application for the duration of the evaluation of the submitted grant applications, as well as consider additional resources.