Electric vehicles remain a small fraction of total vehicle registrations in Cyprus despite years of government subsidies, with recent data showing slow growth in adoption rates.
Between 2020 and 2024, only 4,859 electric vehicles were registered out of 203,000 total vehicle registrations across all categories, according to official figures released on Tuesday.
For passenger cars specifically, electric vehicles accounted for just 3,234 out of 159,078 total registrations during the same period.
The percentage of electric vehicles among total registrations has grown gradually from 0.7% in 2020 to 4.5% in 2024, showing improvement but still representing a tiny portion of Cyprus’s vehicle fleet which includes over 700,000 cars and 61,000 motorcycles.
The Association of Motor Vehicle and Electric Vehicle Importers recently protested against the exhaustion of government subsidy funds, claiming this prevented both citizens from using incentives and importers from selling already imported vehicles.
Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades acknowledged the increase in subsidies in recent years but noted the current program has ended, though efforts would be made to assist those interested in acquiring electric vehicles.
Opposition party Democratic Rally (DISY) criticised the government’s decision, claiming approximately 850 subsidy applications for zero-emission vehicles were effectively cancelled despite the scheme’s supposedly active until the end of 2025.
“How will the green transition be achieved if the government stops subsidy schemes for electric car purchases, when it’s proven – not just in Cyprus but across Europe – that without such schemes, public interest in buying electric cars drops dramatically?” the party said in a statement.
The statement also claimed that withdrawing these applications would leave approximately €5-6 million in allocated funds unused.
Electric motorcycles have seen stronger adoption rates than cars, reaching 14% of motorcycle registrations in 2024 compared to just 4% for passenger cars.
Read more:
