Cyprus had four rounds of electric vehicle grants since December 2021, distributing close to €50 million. Nothing is open to new applicants right now, and the next scheme is expected in 2027 on a different basis.
This guide sets out the real rules from the official scheme documents published by the Road Transport Department (RTD) — including several conditions that are consistently misreported.
If you already have an approval, check your dates first
The fourth call, announced in November 2025, carried hard deadlines that many recipients underestimate:
- Vehicle registration had to be completed by 30 June 2026
- Supporting documents for payment must be submitted by 31 July 2026
Those are absolute. An approval that is not converted into a registered vehicle and a complete document file by those dates lapses.
There are shorter deadlines earlier in the process too. After preliminary approval, you have eight working days to have the dealer upload the vehicle order, and eight working days to email supporting documents to `tomxorigies@rtd.mcw.gov.cy`. Miss either and the approval is cancelled.
If you hold an approval and have not completed your file, this is the single most urgent thing on this page.
What the fourth call actually offered
The scheme's total approved budget is €49,789,200. The fourth call allocated €5,620,000 across five categories, targeting 520 grants:
- Δ5 — new private electric car: €9,000 · 380 grants · €3,420,000
- Δ7 — new electric car for a disabled beneficiary: €20,000 · 40 grants · €800,000
- Δ8 — new electric car for a large family: €20,000 · 40 grants · €800,000
- Δ9 — used private electric car: €9,000 · 50 grants · €450,000
- Δ10 — new N1 commercial vehicle up to 3,500 kg: €15,000 · 10 grants · €150,000
If the purchase price excluding VAT is lower than the grant, you receive the purchase price rather than the full grant.
Only pure electric vehicles qualify. Hybrids and plug-in hybrids receive no direct grant under this scheme.
The price caps — and the one most people get wrong
There are two different ceilings, and they are routinely conflated:
- New vehicles (Δ5, Δ7, Δ8): purchase price including VAT must not exceed €80,000
- Used vehicles (Δ9): purchase price including VAT must not exceed €35,000
Exceed the ceiling and you receive nothing at all — there is no partial award.
The authority also reserves the right to verify the price, taking it from the seller's brochure, website, order form or invoice before any discount. Where these differ, the highest figure applies. Discounting a car below the cap on paper does not work.
Used imports: the conditions that actually decide it
The Δ9 category is where importers are most often caught out. A used electric vehicle qualifies only if:
- it is pure electric, category M1
- it holds an EC Certificate of Conformity under Regulation (EU) 2018/858 — European type approval
- the period from first registration to the date of import into Cyprus does not exceed three years
- a battery health certificate has been issued, either by the manufacturer's distributor in Cyprus or a manufacturer-authorised workshop in the exporting country. It must be no more than two months old at the vehicle's registration date
- a recall certificate has been issued by the manufacturer's distributor in Cyprus, confirming any outstanding recalls have been completed
- the price including VAT does not exceed €35,000
Two of these are easy to fail on timing rather than substance. The battery certificate has a two-month shelf life against the registration date, so obtaining it too early is as much a problem as not obtaining it. And the three-year clock stops at import, not at application — a car that was fine when you found it can age out during shipping.
The used-car grant is for individuals only. Applications under Δ9 are accepted from natural persons. Companies and other legal entities can apply under Δ5 and Δ10, but not for a used vehicle.
A vehicle already entered in the Register of Motor Vehicles before your application date is not eligible under any category. You cannot buy first and apply afterwards.
The ownership lock, and how long it really runs
This is the condition still binding a large number of people today, and it is not two years for everyone:
- Δ5, Δ9, Δ10 — transfer prohibited for two years from the registration date
- Δ7, Δ8 — transfer prohibited for five years from the registration date
The only exception is the death of the registered owner.
If you received a grant in the fourth call and registered the car in the first half of 2026, your lock runs into 2028 — and into 2031 if you received one of the €20,000 grants.
Selling, trading in, exporting or transferring the vehicle inside that window puts you in breach. The scheme provides for repayment of the grant with interest, calculated under the Cyprus public default interest legislation. In serious cases involving false declarations or fraud, the sanctions extend to exclusion from all state aid schemes, legal action and referral to the police.
Before you change car, establish your registration date and your category. A repayment demand with interest will exceed anything you gain on the trade.
How many applications you can make
- Each individual may submit one application in total, across all categories
- Each company or other legal entity may submit up to ten applications per single undertaking, and only under Δ5 and Δ10
Grants to businesses fall under de minimis rules, with a cumulative ceiling of €300,000 per single undertaking over a rolling three-year period, combined with any other state aid received.
Applications are made only through the online portal announced with each call, and applications submitted for one call do not carry over to future calls.
Where demand exceeds the budget — which it has — the department runs a draw among qualifying applicants. Meeting every condition does not guarantee payment.
If your application is rejected, you have eight working days from notification to submit a written objection, by registered post or to `tomxorigies@rtd.mcw.gov.cy`.
What the 2027 scheme is likely to look like
No electromobility grant appears in the 2026 budget, and the government has said it will not open one during the year. A targeted programme is being prepared for 2027, focused on specific beneficiary groups and policy goals rather than paying any qualifying buyer.
The shape of that is already visible in the fourth call. Δ7 and Δ8 paid €20,000 — more than double the standard rate — to disabled beneficiaries and large families. The commercial N1 category paid €15,000. The scheme has been moving toward priority groups for some time; 2027 is expected to complete that shift rather than begin it.
What this means practically: if you fall into a recognised priority category, waiting may be worth a great deal. If you do not, waiting may return nothing at all, and a blanket €9,000 for any buyer is the part least likely to survive.
What to do now
Do not price a grant into a purchase. Nothing is open, and eligibility for what comes next is unpublished.
Calculate the road tax instead, because that is certain. Cyprus taxes on CO₂ emissions, and the annual difference between a petrol SUV and an electric equivalent compounds across ownership. Run your shortlist through the road tax calculator.
Check the registration tax separately. Vehicles emitting under 120 g/km CO₂ have previously been exempt. That is a saving available now, unlike a grant.
If you are importing, read the economics first. Duty, VAT and emissions decide whether an import makes sense at all. Our guide on when not to import a car to Cyprus covers the cases where the saving disappears.
Follow the RTD directly rather than press coverage. Scheme documents and call announcements are published at mcw.gov.cy, in Greek.
For electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid cars available on the island now, see our catalogue of cars in Cyprus.
Figures and conditions in this guide are taken from the RTD scheme guide for the fourth call, published November 2025.
