Electric mobility in Slovenia is among the worst in Europe and points to even worse in 2022

Within "Sections for vehicles” at Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia we can monitor the sales of various vehicle models and, of course, get an insight into the sales of all vehicles in the past year. Since we at the editorial office were interested in how Slovenians accept electric mobility, we reviewed the numbers and interpreted the data in a simple way. We were mainly interested in how Slovenians perceive e-mobility in the light of accelerated global communication and the commitments to which we have committed ourselves as a member of the European Union. So the transition to electric vehicles by 2030. And with it carbon-neutral mobility.

Only 1,689 electric vehicles sold in Slovenia in 2021, which represents an extremely small share of all vehicles sold - only a good 3 percent

So in 2021 we Slovenians registered 1689 of electric vehicles, and judging by the data, there were the most electric vehicles of the model Volkswagen ID.4, which we Slovenians awaited with relatively open wallets. As many as 217 buyers chose the car. However, it is true that among these sold vehicles there are quite a few test vehicles from Volkswagen dealers, who have a larger network of vehicles than the sole representative Tesla in Slovenia – only one salon. Therefore, we assume that the most "real buyers" got the Tesla 3 model, which was bought by just 215 buyers. At the same time, they intervened in the sale of the Y model in Slovenia and sold a good 31 vehicles there. In any case, the absolute winner in Slovenia is Volkswagen, as it sold an additional 152 electric vehicles without any problems ID.3. The model also performed surprisingly well Renault Zoe with 190 vehicles and Twingo ZE with 161 vehicles. It is true, however, that for the "Slovenian" budget, the choice of these two for the second vehicle in the family is the most logical. And obviously a niche where a lot can be done in the future as well. Hyundai with the Kona electric model, it places itself in 6th place with 101 vehicles sold. And more Kia Niro with 72 vehicles. Definitely a good number considering the relatively unrecognizable model. A slight disappointment are the sales figures of Škoda, which is with the model Enyaq (80,60, ...) sold only 131 cars in total. It is particularly noticeable here that buyers who are willing to pay more still perceive Volkswagen as the brand with the "more" premium sign in the group. Considering the investment in Škoda advertising and the technological alignment with the ID.4 model, the result is definitely a bit worse than expected. Premium brands are also extremely bad or unconvincing, and they perform extremely poorly in the segment of electric vehicles. It's so disappointing BMW, whose main share of sales is still the i3 model and managed to find only 31 new owners. But times will definitely change soon for BMW, as sales of the i4 model will officially begin, which can seriously stir up the crowd in a class where the Tesla 3 reigned supreme. made a serious shift, even though in the last year they represent an exceptional number of EVs. Of course, another "Hothach" like that will shake the market Cupra Born, otherwise the "wild" twin of the Volkswagen ID.3 model.

• Electric cars Slovenia
• Amount of registered electric vehicles?
• Transition to electric mobility in Slovenia?!

How will we carry out the transition - not clear?

Slovenia slowly began to perceive that the train was late and that she would not be able to fulfill her commitments to transition to carbon-neutral mobility. That's also why excessively superficial tax legislation is adopted, which goes in the right direction, but does not yet mean a real stimulus in the market. Namely, all vehicles should be exempted from all taxes - both for legal and natural persons, in order to begin to equalize in purchase price with internal combustion cars. For legal entities, it is possible during the year 2022 to deduct paid VAT (after 23.1.2022) when purchasing a vehicle and to claim 40 percent investment allowance for the purchase of an electric vehicle. In addition, such vehicles are exempt from certain other duties. On the other hand, the eco fund announced a few days ago that the subsidy of 4,500 euros for the purchase of electric vehicles for legal entities is being cancelled. Which is again a kind of "shot in the knee" of e-mobility. At the same time, it is not explained how it is with credits for the use of a company vehicle, where input VAT is deducted. Namely, the wording of the law is written in such a way that it is understood that the credit rating is not possible for electric vehicles, but that it is exclusively for business use. This essentially makes the purchase of an electric vehicle in 2022 more expensive than it was. And not cheaper for businesses.

Transition to 2030 – only 8 years

Most European car manufacturers predict that they will make a full transition to electric vehicles by the end of this decade, i.e. within the next 8 years. This means that you will have a hard time buying a car other than an electric car. Slovenia still has a long way to go. First of all, it is necessary to prepare friendly legislation, both in the area of taxes, as well as incentives for the development of the infrastructure of the charging network. This is not as bad as it seems at first glance, but there is still a need for it to be greatly improved.

We started the year 2022 with a lot of ambiguity in tax legislation and the abolition of the subsidy for legal entities when purchasing an electric vehicle. Definitely a bad basis for new records. At the same time, there is no stock of new vehicles on the market, also due to the semiconductor crisis. Therefore, this year we hardly expect sales growth in the first half of the year. However, things will definitely take a turn for the better towards the end of the year.