Cyprus wants 85,000 electric vehicles by 2030, but how?

Charging facilities have improved but subsidies and the lack of a coherent policy still a challengeA small island nation that takes merely a couple hours to drive across, Cyprus has consistently had one of the lowest electric vehicle adoption rates in Europe but recent data is looking increasingly positive. It is Cyprus’ goal, according to Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades, to have 85,000 electric vehicles on the roads by 2030. Vafeades has expressed optimism about meeting the goal, noting it will take roughly 15,000 new EV registrations annually, but he has acknowledged that developments across Europe will influence the pace of adoption. According to data on passenger cars and vans from the European Alternative Fuels Observatory, updated through 2025, Cyprus has the lowest percentage of battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) in the European Union at 0.77 per cent. Eurostat data from 2022 indicated the only European countries with lower EV adoption rates were Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Turkey. Turkey has since significantly increased its percentage of electric vehicles. However, BEVs accounted for 4.7 per cent of total vehicle registrations in 2025, up from 4.0 per cent in 2024 and 2.7 per cent the year prior, and the market share of BEVs and PHEVs for passenger vehicles now exceeds eight European Union countries. Despite Vafeades’ optimism, Cyprus remains far from its goal. According to Angelos Sofocleous, an officer at the road transport department, there are about 8,200 licensed electric vehicles in Cyprus across all vehicle categories, including motorcycles, buses and trucks. An EAC charging point In light of these challenges, what could Cyprus do to boost electric vehicles in the country? Concerns have frequently centred on charging. For years, the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) offered the only public charging network in the country, and drivers needed a subscription card to use their network while the number of chargers hovered around a couple of dozen. But public charging options have significantly increased in recent years, with private operators like EV Power installing chargers at many supermarkets and petrol stations. And, at the start of 2025, a law requiring non-residential buildings with over 20 parking spaces to install at least one charging point took effect. Additionally, many EVs now have a range of over 400km, which is generally enough to drive to travel from Paphos to Ayia Napa and back for example. Though some EVs still have lower battery ranges, and expanding the number of charging points remains a challenge, it is no longer as significant a practical barrier. Much of the discussion on EV adoption has been around government-funded subsidies, which have faced their own challenges. Previous rounds of grant schemes have subsidised thousands of electric cars, motorcycles and other vehicles and were funded through the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. The third scheme, announced in 2024, gave a €9,000 subsidy to 1,827 new and 104 used zero-emission vehicles. Additionally, 1,228 subsidies of €7,500 were available for those who replaced their old vehicles with a BEV or PHEV. However, in April 2025, the government abruptly reduced the number of subsidies, citing unused subsidies prior to EU funding deadlines. Michael Toumbas, the former chief technology officer and co-founder of EV Power, attributed the unused subsidies to misuse of the system by the general public and insufficient knowledge that people would have to buy the vehicle by a set deadline. A fourth scheme was later opened in December and allotted 520 subsidies of €9,000 or more for zero-emission vehicles, with a deadline for registration this past Tuesday, June 30. The strength of regular hybrid vehicles has also been notable. Regular hybrid cars combine a gasoline engine, an electric motor, and a battery pack to save fuel. You never have to plug them in. In the first five months of 2026, they accounted for 48.8 per cent, or nearly half, of new passenger vehicle registrations. However, because they still rely primarily on internal combustion engines (ICE), they have not been eligible for subsidies because they are more polluting. The government has not yet shared details about future grant schemes, although it has announced intentions to offer a scheme through 2030. “No detailed information is currently available regarding the potential incentives, eligibility criteria, or implementation timeline of any future scheme,” Sofocleous told the Cyprus Mail. Sotos Trikomitis, the president of the Association of Motor Vehicle and Electric Vehicle Importers (Semio), has criticised the lack of clarity surrounding future grant schemes, and argued that more funding is needed. Trikomitis has pushed for annual subsidies totalling between €15 million and €20 million, which is significantly more than the €5.6 million of funding for the fourth scheme. Cars charging outside Chinese EV manufacturer BYD HQ in Nicosia However, he told the Cyprus Mail that, even if not everyone can get subsidies, more people would buy electric vehicles if the government gave greater clarity on what to expect. “They don’t want to buy now and lose €9,000,” Trikomitis said, referring to the future scheme. He said, if “customers understand what will happen, they will start buying”, because electric cars, in the long-term, are “much more economical” than other cars. Constantinos Mikellides, the founder of NMC HomeSync, a company that installs home chargers, echoed Trikomitis’ view. “If the government says ‘we don’t give a subsidy for the electric cars,’ I’m sure that Cypriots will go to buy,” Mikellides said. “Now, people stay at home and [are] waiting [for] the news when the subsidies start again.” Trikomitis also noted that some EV options are now comparable in price to petrol cars. However, Toumbas presented a different perspective, noting that, when comparing the same models between internal combustion cars and EV versions, the EV version is typically significantly more expensive. Nevertheless, he also remains optimistic about the appeal of electric vehicles, even for those who don’t get a subsidy, due to cheaper operating costs. “Running costs, of course. And everything else: the ride quality, the comfort, the safety, low center of gravity,” Toumbas said. “Financially, it makes sense.” Sofocleous said “market developments” suggest EV prices will continue to decrease, making them “an increasingly attractive option for consumers”. He also referenced a new European emissions trading system, called ETS2, which will gradually factor the cost of carbon emissions into road transport fuel prices beginning in 2028. These changes will “further strengthen the transition towards zero-emission vehicles”, Sofocleous said. One policy that may be preventing even cheaper EV models is European Union tariffs on Chinese-made cars. The Chinese-owned company BYD began selling in Cyprus last year with a 27 per cent EU tariff placed on its vehicles, but still offers some of the lowest prices on the market. BYD also plans to start operating a factory in Hungary at the end of 2026 to avoid some tariffs. Nevertheless, Stelios Vanezos, the sales manager of BYD Cyprus, expressed confidence despite the current tariffs. “Everybody keeps saying that if the tariffs were not there, the cars would have been even cheaper, but since they are cheaper than the competition, nobody asks about that,” Vanezos told the Cyprus Mail. He said the most frequent concerns from customers are the time it takes for charging and the price of charging outside the home. Toumbas argued the primary challenge Cyprus faces in increasing EV adoption is education. In general, he said, there is a lack of understanding about the costs surrounding EVs, how charging works, the range of the battery and other aspects of electric vehicles and electricity more broadly. He described a future where people charge their electric vehicles during the daytime while they are at work, making use of solar panels while they are actively producing energy. Then, the vehicle would be used as a battery to power their household at night, like “an energy wallet on wheels”. Christos Kypris, a longtime EV owner based in Nicosia, told the Cyprus Mail about a different issue he sees. “The thing is, Cypriots do not have access to cheap used electric vehicles,” Kypris said. He pointed to a lack of import options because Cyprus is the only country in the EU that drives on the left side of the road following Brexit, and there is a law that prohibits most imports of cars outside the EU that are older than five years old. Kypris argued the five-year cap should be changed to “give an exception to electric vehicles”. He noted that one reason for the law is because of environmental concerns over older vehicles, which are not applicable to electric vehicles. However, Trikomitis pushed back on relying on imports. Trikomitis, who works with A. Tricomitis, a company that represents Suzuki Motors in Cyprus, said that for Suzuki cars, “there are approximately 1,000 to 1,200 items different from Japanese spec to European spec”, and recommended greater regulation of used imported cars. Kypris also called for greater government support throughout more aspects of electric vehicles. He gave as an example older houses that may not have the electrical capacity to handle home chargers, and suggested “the government should be funding the electricians” that can install new cables. Ultimately, Sofocleous emphasised that the 85,000 electric vehicles goal is only “part of the wider transition” to sustainable mobility. He said continued increases in ICE vehicle registrations and a reliance on private cars, in part due to limited public transport, pose continued challenges. Achieving the target will take “a broader policy approach” that includes replacing older vehicles, expanding charging infrastructure and encouraging sustainable transport options, Sofocleous said. Despite the challenges that electric vehicles in Cyprus have faced throughout the years, many of those in the field are optimistic that rapid growth is around the corner. “It’s in our culture. The Cypriot doesn’t want to try something new,” Mikellides said. “But if they’re able to try it, after they bought it, everybody [wants it].” “I believe in electric cars,” Trikomitis said. “I am very surprised with the performance, and to be honest, I love it.”