The Maltese government has a target and that is to have 65,000 electric cars on the road by 2030, as part of its carbon reduction strategy, according to environment minister Aaron Farrugia.

A cash grant of €11,000 was introduced in the budget that the minister believes will help bring about the transition.

“Experts have told us that electric cars will reach price parity with conventional cars by 2025, making them more accessible but until then, we are encouraging change by a generous cash grant,” he said. He also defended the country’s negotiating stance with the European Commission, to lower its target to reduce carbon emissions to 19% from 30% by 2030.

The reduced target would cost Malta up to €2 billion to achieve and for the minister, the goal is not to risk burdening people and making the industry uncompetitive, when “we are the least polluting member state in the EU.”

For the Opposition, however, the target is not ambitious enough, with opposition environment spokesperson Robert Cutajar insisting that it should be in the region of 30%. He added that the cash grant for electric vehicles is still not enough and should be higher to enable those with lower incomes to enter the electric car market.