Car market, Ecology, Energy, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Good for Business

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Friday, 29.03.2024, 10:02

Number of electric cars grows 5% in Estonia in 2018

BC, Tallinn, 27.12.2019.Print version
Electric vehicles registered in the motor vehicle register of Estonia as at the beginning of 2019 numbered 1,254, a figure 5% higher than at the beginning of 2018, Statistics Estonia said.

The number of hybrid vehicles meanwhile grew by 35% during the same period. 

There were roughly 746,500 cars, including 7,598 electric or hybrid vehicles, in the Estonian motor vehicle register at the beginning of this year, lead analyst Piret Pukk said. 


Over the past five years, the number of hybrid vehicles has more than quadrupled and the number of electric vehicles almost doubled in Estonia.


Of the EU member states for which data is available, there were five countries in 2017 where over 1% of registered vehicles were electric or hybrid vehicles: 2.4% in Sweden, 1.9% in Poland, 1.5% in the UK, 1.4% in France and 1.2% in Belgium. The countries having the biggest numbers of electric and hybrid vehicles in their register were the UK, France and Poland.


The first modern electric cars appeared on Estonian roads under the electric mobility program in 2011, after which a charging point network was established. During 2014, more than 500 electric cars were added to the car fleet of Estonia with the help of a subsidy. 


Electric cars are significantly more expensive than ordinary cars largely as a result of the cost of the battery. A kilometer driven with an electric car meanwhile costs several times less than a kilometer driven with a car powered by an internal combustion engine. In addition, an electric car causes less noise and releases no emissions.  



The main factors hindering the wider use of electric cars are the amount of time necessary for charging, insufficient availability of changing stations and limited range of operation, especially in winter. 


According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), there were about 3.1 mln electric cars in use worldwide in 2017 and the number of such vehicles is estimated to grow to over 100 mln in ten years. That will be facilitated by policies aimed to promote the use of electric cars. Vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine meanwhile will continue to take up most space on the roads, as the number of cars is estimated to hit two bn globally by 2035-2040.


Estonia recently announced a support measure for the purchase of electric vehicles. The total amount of the support is 1.2 mln euros, the amount payable per vehicle is 5,000 euros and the support will be disbursed predominantly to transport companies.






Search site