The budget for subsidising the purchase of electric vehicles and withdrawing old cars, motorbikes, mopeds and bicycles is at €10 million, Minister of Transport, Communications and Work, Yiannis Karousos, said.

Karousos said in a statement in Larnaka, that, on Wednesday, the second phase of the subsidies programme for electric vehicles and withdrawal of old ones was announced, with the grant amounting to €10.16 million for 2,518 cases of all kinds of vehicles.

He added that "there are 17 categories for electric vehicles with the subsidy starting at €10,000, while the subsidy for the withdrawal program is €7,500".

The Minister explained that the difference between this programme and the previous one, is that, regarding the electric vehicles, there will be no priority order and people do not need to rush to submit applications, since in the event that those interested exceed the number of available subsidies, there will be a draw.

"In order to apply, those interested in buying an electric vehicle will need to provide a certificate from a vehicle seller that they have been informed of the price of the car," he added.

Regarding the vehicle withdrawal program, which gives up to €7,500 for a car, the Minister said that "the order of priority will be with the oldest vehicle to be retired. In other words, the older the vehicle that is withdrawn, the greater the chances of someone being approved."