Czech subsidies for company electric cars are off to a lukewarm start. She is our typical office worker, companies complain

The Ministry of Industry and Trade announced last year and this year actually announced a subsidy program for the purchase of electric cars (including FCEV fuel cell hydrogen cars) and chargers, which applies to small, medium and large enterprises as well as natural persons doing business, but one of the conditions applicable to all the applicant must have closed at least the last two accounting periods.

Specifically, the program is aimed at companies and entrepreneurs (VAT payers and non-VAT payers) who operate mainly in the manufacturing industry and construction, retail and wholesale, transport and storage, in the financial and insurance industries, run cultural, entertainment and recreational activities and other fields.

Businesses owned by territorial administrative units, gambling houses, casinos, betting companies, manufacturers of weapons and ammunition or certain groups of farmers are unlucky. This subsidy program applies to them NOT APPLICABLE. It also applies that one company means all entities of the applicant that are directly or indirectly connected (property, personnel, voting rights…).

The program is implemented in the form of a loan with a guarantee from the National Development Bank and has a number of conditions. So let’s go to the basic parameters:

• The subsidy is applicable to all fully electric vehicles with a purchase price of up to 1.5 million crowns without VAT for M1. The amount of the loan for these cars is then at least 300,000 CZK and at most 1.5 million crowns.
• Commercial vehicles and hydrogen FCEVs do not have a purchase price limit, but the guarantee loan is from CZK 300,000 to 2 million crowns for N1 and up to 2.5 million crowns for N2 up to 4.25 tons and a hydrogen FCEV vehicle.
• Vehicle categories may be M1, N1, N2 (limited to 4.25 tons here). The subsidy does not apply to hybrids or plug-in hybrids. In short, only pure electricity or hydrogen FCEV. In addition, the car must not be intended for research or development projects or for primary agricultural production (breeding, cultivation, etc., specifically according to CZ-NACE A 01, A 02, A 03).
• Loan financing is mandatory with a minimum duration of 12 months. The loan can be terminated early no earlier than 12 months after the payment of the subsidy.
• The client can arrange a loan only with a financial institution that has signed a contract with the National Development Bank (NRB) in the Electromobility Guarantee program.
• The Národní rozvojová banka will provide up to a five-year guarantee for the loan up to 70% of the principal amount of the loan, which will make financing more accessible even for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The word loan was mentioned several times here, i.e. loan, installment purchase, indebtedness… Of course, loan companies are not Samaritans, so the loan will also incur some interest, the amount of which will be different for each financial institution involved in the program.

However, we know that car companies/representations in cooperation with financial companies have their own loan programs, where they offer you as a client an interest rate significantly lower than, for example, banks. And how will they do it? They simply subsidize part of the interest from their own funds, which is a common practice even in “loan with 0% increase” events.

After approval of the guarantee, acceptance of the vehicle and delivery of all required documents, the applicant will receive a subsidy for an M1 electric vehicle in the amount of a maximum of CZK 200,000.

For light utility electric vehicles up to 3.5 tons N1, the subsidy is a maximum of CZK 250,000, and for hydrogen FCEVs and electric utility vehicles in the N2 category up to 4.25 tons (B holder is also allowed to drive in the Czech Republic, if he has had it for more than 2 years) is a subsidy of up to CZK 300,000. The amount of the financial contribution for the vehicle and the charging station (up to the specified maximum) will be added according to the remaining amount of support (after taking into account the grant equivalent of the guarantee).

A subsidy can therefore be obtained even for a non-public charger up to CZK 150,000, which is derived from the installed capacity and the price of the charging point. Attention, the charger (charging point) must not be used for business activities (literally, the condition is that it can only be used by the beneficiary, not his customers) and the number of charging points is limited by the number of vehicles purchased.

However, not everyone will buy a branded DC station for half a million, however, the wallbox subsidy will cover almost its entire price and you will literally pay a few thousand crowns.

Amount of loan and subsidy for chargers

Please note that both the vehicle and the charger must be financed with a single loan, and ownership of the vehicle is required for at least 24 months from the date of payment of the car subsidy.

The subsidy only applies to new vehicles, but according to the legislation, a new vehicle is one that is younger (first registration) than 6 months old and has driven no more than 6,000 km.

We have additional conditions that are especially important for large fleets:

• Under this program, a business can apply for a subsidy for EV vehicles and charging points only once every 6 months. However, it is possible to cover the entire fleet of vehicles in one application and deliver them gradually (however, the subsidy will be paid only after the last vehicle has been taken over).
• This program falls within the drawdown of the de minimis limit. The maximum de minimis support per enterprise (in the sum of connected enterprises) amounts to 200,000 euros (after deducting subsidies and guarantees from European funds obtained in the last 3 years). Every company can check the status of their de minimis support in the register HERE.
• During the mandatory ownership period, the subsidized electric car can be rented, but only if the tenant is a business entity.

Applications for subsidies under the program called National recovery plan, electromobility I. were launched on March 18, 2024. Since that date, the National Development Bank has received a total of 1,205 guarantee applications. As of April 29, 2024, 602 signed guarantee contracts were registered, and the bank approved another 145 applications (now they are about to be signed).

There were 454 applications in the solution on the given day, in one case the application was rejected and in three cases the clients decided to withdraw their application themselves.

So the start is lukewarm, but the subsidy program tends to increase, although there are voices that it is administratively demanding and that it is not so worthwhile. After all, the condition here is a loan for 12 months and a minimum loan of CZK 300,000, from which, in short, interest flows, which you pay out of your own pocket, unless, for example, the car manufacturer partially subsidizes it.

In any case, the end of accepting applications will be on September 30, 2025. The latest deadline for the completion of the project is currently December 31, 2025. Finally, be careful in case of violation of any of the regulations/conditions, as this may result in a contractual fine of 5% of the guarantee amount and also withdrawal subsidy.