27/09/2021 09:11
Cyprus aims to boost electric vehicle (EV) sales to 25% of total car sales by 2030 and to instal 1,000 charging points throughout Cyprus by 2026, Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Yiannis Karousos has said.
According to an official press release, Karousos attended the informal Council of Ministers of Transport and Energy held in Slovenia on September 21 – 23 which focused on the European Commission’s set of proposals aiming to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030, called “Fit for 55”, with the contribution of the transport sector to this target considered important as transport amounts to 25% of emissions.
Speaking to the Council, Karousos briefed his counterparts on Cyprus “ambitious policy framework for the promotion of electric motoring.”
“We have set a target to increase EV registration by 25% of total annual vehicle sales by 2030, while this number will be rising by 50% per year,” he said.
During the discussion over developing EV charging points infrastructure, Karousos outlined Cyprus’ comprehensive policy with strategic targets, such as the developing of the necessary legal framework and other measures such as an incentives and monitoring system to ensure compliance, taking into account the cooperation of the public with the private sector.
He also noted that apart from charging points at homes, Cyprus aims to have more than 1,000 charging points by 2026 located in government buildings, hospitals business buildings, highways, public parking plots, restaurants and other areas, while the government is currently making the necessary regulatory changes the installation of instal charging points to the extensive network of gas stations
Furthermore, he said that the government in collaboration with universities in Cyprus is also exploring the possibility to instal solar panels in the highways that would operate both for energy generation as well as sound barriers.
“We could utilise hundreds of highway kilometres in the EU as a source of energy,” he said.