Over the past year, well over one million new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were registered in the European Union once again. The Nordic countries rank among the top buyers. Are you curious to know how Czechia, Slovakia and their neighbours are doing? Are there any subsidies that can help you buy your dream car? Read the following article to find out everything you need to know.
CZECHIA
On a rather negative note, BEVs only accounted for 4.7 % of Czechia’s new registrations last year. In 2024, more than 1.4 million BEVs were registered throughout the EU, down by 5.9 % year-on-year and accounting for 13.6 % of all newly registered vehicles.
Although Czechia was one of the 12 EU countries that recorded a year-on-year increase in BEV registrations in the past year, there were only five countries ranking lower than Czechia in terms of their BEV share: Italy, Bulgaria, Poland, Croatia and Slovakia. Denmark comes at the top of the list with 51.5% of BEVs out of all new registrations. Austria, for example, also did well with around 18 %. In contrast, Germany, the largest EU market, saw a year-on-year drop from 18 % to 13 %.
In Czechia, there were over 36,000 M1 BEVs in 2024, up by 10,924. Most of them were purchased by legal entities. The lack of interest among individuals in buying a BEV may be due to the unfavourable system of BEV purchase subsidies. While other EU countries have had incentives for individuals to buy BEVs in place for a long time, Czechia is lagging behind.
What are the subsidies you can apply for?
TRANSCom, a programme designed by the Modernisation Fund of the State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic, is intended for the private business sector to support non-public infrastructure, i.e. the purchase of non-public charging stations, the purchase of cars, commercial vehicles and trucks with alternative propulsion for business purposes (electricity, hydrogen, bioCNG/LNG) as well as rail vehicles with alternative propulsion.
TRANSGov, the second programme, is designed to support the public sector, specifically the construction of charging and refuelling stations for public transport vehicles and the purchase of public transport vehicles with alternative propulsion (electricity, hydrogen and bioCNG/LNG).
On February 28, 2025, the TRANSGov No. 1/2025 call was published. Applications for the subsidy can be submitted from March 28, 2025 to January 30, 2026. The TRANSCom call has not yet been published.
You must have noticed that none of the above-mentioned projects subsidises the purchase of BEVs by individuals without a business ID. In this respect, there are no grants and subsidies for consumers. The only subsidy available applies to the purchase of charging stations for family and residential houses. Anyone can apply for a grant of CZK 15,000 to 25,000 until the end of June 2025.
It is further worth mentioning that last October the National Development Bank ended the acceptance of applications for the Electric Mobility Guarantee Programme, which, together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, offered loan guarantees for the purchase of electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and charging stations. Applications are no longer accepted because the allocated funds have been exhausted. The bank paid out CZK 335.4 million in financial contributions to clients (again, individual consumers were not eligible).
SLOVAKIA
What is the situation in Slovakia?
In 2024, the number of BEVs sold increased year-on-year by up to 53 % (by 5,380 units). Ordinary people are currently discouraged from buying a BEV because it is much more expensive than an ICE car and because the Slovak population has low purchasing power to buy a new, more modern and more expensive cars.
Changes in Slovakia’s laws
Answers to the challenges of advancing electric mobility were presented by the Draft Action Plan to Advance Electric Mobility in the Slovak Republic, which was adopted by the Slovak Government on July 12, 2023 (the “Draft”). This Draft contains a package of measures that could make Slovakia’s EV market more attractive and efficient.
The significantly higher cost of BEVs should be offset by financial subsidies for the purchase of zero- and low-emission vehicles. The subsidy is intended to be paid over a longer term. The eligibility rules are designed to cover as much demand as possible from producers, retailers and consumers. However, even in 2024, the subsidy programme was not launched. Slovakia is already lagging behind its neighbour, Poland, which has announced subsidies from the Recovery and Resilience Plan totalling up to EUR 380 million.
In addition, financial measures to be adopted will include (i) financial subsidies for building charging infrastructure; (ii) financial subsidies to support public transport; and (iii) financial subsidies for battery and storage systems.
An interesting measure adopted so far is the introduction of the “right to plug”. This right will ensure access to charging infrastructure for all. It is to be implemented by facilitating the installation of charging points not only in family houses and company buildings, but also in all housing structures that are divided into residential and non-residential premises. The right to plug is linked to the simplification and acceleration of the process of building infrastructure. With the amended building legislation, effective from March 15, 2025, a charging point above 22 kW is now considered a simple structure. This measure will facilitate further construction and expansion of charging stations. A positive development in this respect is the fact that already in 2024, the number of public charging points grew year-on-year by up to 34 %.
The above amendment is only one part of the legislative adoption and practical implementation of the Draft. In our opinion, this trend will gain momentum in the near future, which would also help fundamentally advance the Slovak EV market.
What about other EU countries?
According to the available data, Norway, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Sweden still remain the European countries offering the most advantageous incentives to buy a BEV.
The above shows that both Czechia’s and Slovakia’s EV subsidies are lagging behind other European countries and that both the Czech and Slovak citizens will be left waiting for their EV subsidy for some time. Although Slovakia has got one step ahead with its Action Plan, both Czechia and Slovakia could get inspiration from the approach of some of their neighbouring countries.
