Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary’s government will next month launch a 60 billion forint (EUR 156.1m) scheme to promote the use of electric cars.
Speaking in Shenzhen, Minister Szijjártó said the program will involve the upgrade of the network of electric vehicle charging stations and government subsidies for the purchase of EVs. The government will spend 30 billion forints over the next two and a half years on building 170 new high-capacity charging stations along the busiest roads in Hungary, Szijjártó said. The other half of the scheme’s budget will go towards grants for businesses such as sole proprietorships, taxi drivers and car-sharing companies that want to buy electric cars, minivans or pick-ups, he said. Minister Szijjártó said the ongoing revolutionary changes in the automotive sector, which he said represented the backbone of the global economy, also had a significant environmental protection aspect. “If we take the fight against climate change seriously, then we must know that it is impossible without the use of electric vehicles,” the minister said. He noted that 14% of global harmful emissions are linked to public road transport, warning that climate goals would fail without the transition to electric vehicles. Szijjártó said he had briefed the chairman of China’s BYD, the world’s biggest electric vehicle producer, of the new subsidy scheme, who welcomed the measure. Hungary is a key market for BYD, the minister said, noting the company’s electric bus factory in Komárom.