TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Subsidies to encourage demand for electric vehicles will be extended to 2026 and new types of vehicles will be included, the environment ministry said on Thursday (Oct. 9).

Subsidies for electric vehicles were scheduled to run out at the end of 2024, but will be extended until Dec. 31, 2026, director of the ministry’s atmospheric environment department Chang Shun-chin (張順欽) told CNA. Chang said subsidies will also be expanded to include consumers who wish to replace their vehicle with an electric one of a different type.

The subsidies are currently offered to consumers who replace fossil fuel powered scooters and cars with electric ones, and the replacement vehicle must be in the same class as the original, Chang said. He said that considering people may need to change the type of vehicle they use when replacing with electric, the subsidies will be widened to allow this.

Chang said this would include subsidies for those replacing fossil fuelled powered scooters with electric cars, and diesel minivans with larger electric passenger vehicles, for example. For those replacing old vehicles with petrol-electric hybrid vehicles, only half of the amount of the subsidy for fully electric vehicles will be granted, he said.

The amount of the subsidy will depend on the type of vehicle being replaced, and more money will be offered for those replacing larger vehicles. Chang said the incentives are offered to encourage the public to retire old vehicles and promote electrification of transport.

The environment ministry said that 50,000 vehicles have been phased out since the subsidies were introduced. The incentives were introduced in 2023, and target vehicles more than 10 years old.