Another record-breaking growth in eco-vehicle financing
At the beginning of August, pursuant to a decision by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, the amount allocated for leasing of electric cars under the My Electric Car program was doubled. The total pool of available funds is now PLN 200 million. This is due to the growing interest in the programme.
As Santander Leasing’s latest analysis shows, by the end of July, the growth rate of BEV financing was as high as 135 percent year-on-year.
The upward trend is also confirmed by the latest reading of the PZPM and PSPA’s 'Electromobility Counter’, according to which as of the end of July 2022, a total of 52 881 passenger and commercial electric cars and vans were registered in Poland. For the first seven months of 2022, their number increased by 14 098, i.e. 44 per cent year-on-year. Parallel to the increase in vehicle sales, the charging infrastructure is developing. At the end of July this year, there were 2 293 publicly available electric vehicle charging stations (4 431 service points) in Poland. 29 percent of these were fast direct current (DC) charging stations and 71 percent slower alternating current (AC) chargers of 22 kW or less. In July, 61 new public charging stations (104 service points) were launched.
The above figures only confirm the predictions made earlier this year as part of our Leasing Index survey. Among companies considering the purchase of an electric or hybrid car, leasing seems to be the obvious solution. For as many as 83 percent of companies planning to purchase an eco-vehicle, leasing seemed the most likely form of financing. The impact of the My Electric Car programme is therefore unquestionable. Entrepreneurs encouraged by additional financing are more willing to make investments in green vehicles. In our case, only in the electric car segment the growth rate has reached a three-digit value year-on-year. Together with hybrid cars, this growth, according to data as at the end of July, amounted to 16 percent.
Despite the recorded year-on-year growth rate in terms of alternative-powered vehicle registrations, our country is still far behind the European electromobility leaders. As indicated by the report prepared at the end of February 2022 by EY and Eurelectric, „Can utilities turn EVs into a grid asset?”, last year one in five vehicles sold in Europe had an electric drive. According to experts, however, this is only the beginning of the electromobility revolution. According to them, the number of zero-emission vehicles will increase from five to 65 million by 2030, to double to 130 million cars in the next five years. This creates an unprecedented challenge for the electricity grid, as up to 65 million charging stations will need to be set up by 2035.
A further upward trend in Polish electromobility is certain to continue, not only because of the global trend towards finding alternative and environmentally friendly solutions in the area of mobility and energy transition, but also, if only from an economic perspective. A report prepared by the Foundation for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles and Cambridge Econometrics, entitled 'Driving the Polish Future', indicates that the Polish economy spends around EUR 12 billion annually on fuels for cars on Polish roads. Switching to electric propulsion would result in savings for the Polish economy of around EUR 8 billion each year.
Enlarged budget under the programme
As of August, the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management will allocate PLN 100 million more to the My Electric Car programme. Initially, PLN 20 million was intended to be made available under the leasing component, but in March this year the Fund decided to increase the budget by PLN 80 million and now it has allocated PLN 100 million to financing this part of the programme. Therefore, the total pool of funds currently available for subsidising car leases is as high as PLN 200 million.
In the lease offer prepared by Santander Leasing, new passenger cars and electric vehicles of M1 category (passenger cars for transporting up to 8 people) with a maximum value of PLN 225 000 are eligible for financing. For company passenger electric cars, a subsidy of up to PLN 27 000 is foreseen, provided that the declared annual mileage of the vehicle is at least 15,000 km. In the case of vans (N1 category) the value of subsidy looks even more attractive, as it can amount to as much as PLN 70 000 if the annual mileage exceeds 20 000 km.
