While there are growing calls - especially from Germany - for the European Commission to kick start an EU-wide scheme to support the sale of electric cars, the Polish government has decided it can’t wait. This week it announced ambitious plans to relaunch its own national subsidy scheme for electric vehicles, NaszEauto (Our e-car).
Starting on February 1st, anyone buying an electric car will be eligible for a 18,750 złoty (€4,460) subsidy. This is supported by an additional 10,000 złoty (€2,370) for scrapping their old combustion engine car. Low-income households will receive additional support to go electric.
The program shouldn’t come as a surprise. It was already clearly outlined among the milestones of Poland’s recovery plan published in July 2024. As the implementation is already late, a smooth launch is key for Poland to be able to apply for the payment of the next tranche under the Commission’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.
One of the criticisms in public consultations was the exclusion of large fleet owners from the scope of the program. Current data from the previous subsidy program shows that a majority of applicants are businesses rather than individual consumers (less than 40%). Looking at the whole market, Samar Automotive Market Research Institute estimates that corporate fleets account for nearly 70% of new cars.
It is clear that supporting the renewal of large fleets with zero-emission vehicles will have the biggest impact. It is also a critical step to increase the availability of second-hand e-cars to the wider public. This should be the focus of additional measures such as differentiating deductibility of company cars based on emission levels. With the appropriate flexibility in the recovery plan, the scope of the program could - and should - have been enlarged to cover corporate fleets.
Nevertheless the program is an important step in boosting sales of zero emission cars in Poland, particularly amongst lower income households. It will provide 1.6 billion złoty in support for individuals, and makes specific allowance for families with three or more kids of €7,000 subsidy for an EV and €1,150 for scrapping an old vehicle. Low income householders receive an additional €1,150.
These criteria show a willingness to provide better support to lower income households, one of the biggest barriers for moving to an EV is price. It will be interesting to see how the market reacts to this offer and possibly adapt the criteria to better target these households. This is a significant change in the philosophy of the support.
This is not the only program in the recovery plan supporting the roll out of clean transport. Reading carefully the last version of Poland’s recovery plan provides a good overview of the government’s approach to reducing transport emissions. It is encouraging to see that this support scheme for the acquisition of new vehicles is only part of much wider thinking.
Supporting e-mobility is not only about transport but also energy. The renewal of the fleet goes hand-in-hand with investments in renewable energy generation. Last year saw yet another record with about 30% of Poland’s electricity coming from renewables, almost triple what it was only 10 years ago.
The recovery plan includes milestones and reforms dedicated to the further development of renewable energy sources (in particular offshore wind supported by the construction of servicing infrastructure as well as loans to investors). Increasing renewables’ share also requires modernising the grid. Together with record production from renewable sources, 2024 saw record levels of curtailment (about 730 GWh, i.e. ten times levels seen in 2023). This is something the recovery plan had also anticipated by including legislative changes reinforcing the business case for investing in energy storage.
Supporting e-mobility is also about industrial policy. The Polish government is not only focusing on demand side policies but also encouraging investments in the whole value chain for EVs. This is evident in the Ministry of State Assets' recent statements regarding an e-mobility cluster, which could position Poland as a key player in Europe’s green transport sector. This is also visible in the recovery plan with the creation of a fund to support investments in sustainable mobility and zero-emission energy sources. What is particularly important in this context is that the fund should in particular support R&D and technology transfers which are critical to ensure the development of an EV value chain in Europe.
If done right this could place Poland at the forefront of Europe’s e-mobility transition – not just as a consumer of EVs but as a hub for manufacturing and innovation.
