E-mobility in the Czech Republic and Slovakia 2021 – the current state of affairs

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E-mobility in the Czech Republic and Slovakia 2021 - the current state of affairs-2021

In the Czech Republic, the year 2021 was rather mixed for the automotive markets. The Czech Automobile Industry Association reported only a very slight increase (+1.9%) in new car registrations. On the other hand, things went very well in the used car segment. Surprisingly, sales of electric cars did not meet expectations, because last year the Czech Republic sold 2.646 electric cars sold, which corresponds to a 1.3% share of all new cars. Compared to the previous year, there were 616 fewer e-cars.

“We think that Czech customers are simply not interested in electric cars, they are skeptical about them, also because many of them do not know exactly how they work, they are discouraged by the range and the price,” says FrantiSek Neuman, director of the Czech representation of Citroën.

In 2022, the Czech government is planning an e-mobility funding program worth EUR 940 million. CZK, which is about 38 million. equivalent to euros. This means that the purchase of 3.525 electric cars, 30 hydrogen cars and 1.000 cargo e-bikes will be funded. Czech experts recommend targeting the promotion of e-cars specifically to company fleets.

Another obstacle is the unsatisfactory infrastructure. However, politicians have recognized the need to catch up in this area and would like to make the necessary investments. According to former Deputy Industry Minister Eduard Muřický, the Czech automotive industry is a mainstay of industry and the economy, accounting for around a tenth of GDP and 20 percent of exports. “According to the National Clean Mobility Action Plan, we expect up to 500 by 2030.000 fully electric vehicles in our country. By then it should also be 35.000 charging points, especially fast charging points,” he added.

Among the electric cars, the SKODA ENYAQ was particularly popular last year with almost 700 vehicles. Hyundai KONA is in the top field with over 200 electric cars. Tesla is the second most popular e-car brand after SKODA.

Another development for e-cars can be observed in Slovakia. Overall, the Slovakian automotive market declined sharply last year. In November 2021, new registrations from a total of 5.704 cars recorded. New passenger car registrations fell by 17.58% year-on-year.

However, the proportion of electric cars compared to all cars sold in Slovakia has continued to increase. In 2020, electric cars accounted for 1.1% of all new cars sold in Slovakia. In 2021, this proportion rose to 1.5%. Despite its relatively low level, this increase is also significant because the high purchase premium, which in Slovakia is a maximum of 8.000 euros was granted, had no impact on the sales figures in 2021, as the entire funding amount of 6 million euros in 2019 was awarded within a few minutes.

A new edition of the successful purchase bonus program for e-cars in Slovakia is expected for the current year. The subsidy for the hybrid 2022 of the M1 and N1 classes is expected to be lower than for electric cars. In the past, this subsidy was 5.000 euros. According to the Slovenian Economics Minister Richard Sulík, less support per car is also to be expected, “but the purchase premium will reach more applicants if the necessary conditions are met,” argues Sulik.

Aleksandra Fedorska is a Polish-German political scientist and publicist. She works as a correspondent for Polish and German media in the fields of energy policy and e-mobility. Fedorska lives and works in Jagel in Schleswig-Holstein and in the Polish city of Poznań.

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3 thoughts on “E-mobility in the Czech Republic and Slovakia 2021 – the current state of affairs”

  1. This can have many causes. On the one hand you can buy young used cars that are subsidized super cheaply from Germany, so why shouldn’t you take advantage of that?
    On the other hand, one must also realize that the idea of environmental protection is not equally strongly represented in all European countries.
    In addition, the Czech electricity mix is not very promising. Do I continue to produce CO2 with diesel and petrol or with an electric car radioactive nuclear waste for thousands of years without a disposal strategy. In the Czech Republic you would have to buy your own PV system with the car so that it is also worthwhile for the planet.

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  2. Did a tour to Prague and on to Vienna with my eGolf last summer.

    The loading situation was actually usable. The only bad thing was that almost all AC charging points have a time tariff. It may be very attractive for 22kW chargers like the Zoe, but it’s just way too expensive for my 7.4kW two-phase charger. Even with the usual 11kW, they wouldn’t be really cheap.

    Therefore, only the DC chargers that billed “normally” according to charging energy were usable and were therefore cheaper than AC chargers for me.

    However, at least half was delivered by combustion engines and the other BEVs hardly loaded.

    Furthermore, you can basically drive on the freeways with BEVs in the Czech Republic free of charge.
    However, the procedure for certifying the exemption is so complicated and expensive that it is not worth it for a simple visit (you actually have to submit the application in Czech to the authorities in the Czech Republic – but I’m already there and I don’t have one Access to the language – or you have to have this officially certified personally on site, which is just under 1 € cheaper than the motorway fee for 10 days). This has probably been made so complicated on purpose so that only Czechs can get the exemption properly and tourists continue to pay the AB fee.

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