The capital Sofia will have several electric car charging stations in just weeks, according to Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister, Traicho Traikov.
Traikov further said Monday that he was all in favor of introducing legal incentives for the use of electric vehicles, adding this is an issue that should not be overlooked.
The Minister voiced disappointment that the State has not done much in this direction and has nothing much to brag about.
According to him, such measures and incentives relate mainly to funds that need to be slated from the budget. He listed as possible incentives exemptions from the Value Added Tax (VAT) for the purchase of electric cars, elimination of registration fees, and parking privileges.
Traikov spoke Monday during the award ceremony for the best student electric vehicle project. The contest was won by the team from the Sofia Technical University. For the first time a high school team also took part in the contest, represented by students from the Agriculture and Forestry High School from the Rhodoppe town of Chepelare.
The Minister pointed out Sofia should follow the example of the French capital Paris, which launched a large-scale project to rent temporarily electric cars and ordinary bikes to be used in urban traffic.