The importance of incentives to transition to e-mobility

To expand the use of birch vehicles in Slovenia and to accelerate the development of alternative fuels in traffic, Borzen recently published a public call for co -financing the purchase of electric vehicles to sole proprietors and natural persons with activity. The Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy has an approximate € 1.25 million for this, and the applications will begin on April 22.

The aforementioned are available in the framework of the call for non -refundable financial incentives for the purchase of both new and used electric vehicles. The total value of the purchase, which can be made in the period from 1 June 2024, should not exceed 65,000 euros. We asked the largest importer of passenger cars in Slovenia, Porsche Slovenia, which controls one third of the market. “The publication of this call is, above all, great news for all sole proprietors who intend to buy an electric vehicle or may have even purchased it. With this call, all sole proprietors and other natural persons who carry out activity are entitled to a subsidy under the same conditions as natural and legal persons, « she explained Mirela ZupančičMoon Head of Porsche Slovenia.

Subsidizing policies

She emphasized that sole proprietors (SP) can now apply for the subsidy (SP) for purchases from 1. June 2024, also for vehicles for which they may have even received a rejected role, since the past calls did not include the SP in these, there was a large demand, some customers also bought the vehicles, but then they were released from subsidies, although there was no reason to consider them other legal entities. Zupančič.

“There has also been a lot of doubts and conflicting information lately about subsidies for legal entities, saying that the funds are running out and there will be no new call. In this regard, we are pleased that they are very well aware of the importance of the subsidization policy for the sectoral ministry. They ensured that additional funds were prepared and that after the use of this call, a new one would be published immediately. In the future, it would also make sense to consider additional calls for plug -in hybrids that represent an important intermediate technology and allow you to familiarize with electric mobility to drivers who are still retained for now, « said the interviewee. With subsidies for connection hybrids, this would also be known when selling these vehicles.

Subsidies also for e-mailboxes

Subsidies are also available for e-mailboxes for natural persons and natural persons with activity, sole proprietors and legal persons, since sufficient charging infrastructure is the first condition for the development of electric mobility. Therefore, according to Mirela Zupančič, at this stage, appropriate financial incentives are very important. “First of all, the incentives were focused on public filling infrastructure, which is of course right and necessary. Nevertheless, the fact that electric vehicles will continue to do about 80 percent of all charges at home or at work in the future, which is why we support the stock exchanges that are focused on private, that is, non -non -non -non -non -non -public charging station. « 

In the calls, first of all, there was some awkwardness in the technical specifications, which was mostly quickly settled, says the interviewee, adding that they would still like to change the request from the tender, ‘that the charging cable is at least five meters long’, as this is much limited by a set of charging stations that come in handy for co -financing. “If a driver of an electric car in a home garage is sufficient for a four -meter cable charger and they are also cheaper, this should not be the cause of the rejection of the subsidy. The same applies to EMS systems; Some customers have these systems at home before purchasing a charging station and these purchases could also be taken into account – but at the moment the customer has to buy the EMS system because this is a prerequisite for obtaining a subsidy. « 

Any problems when the charger does not work for any reason, trying to eliminate the same day remotely. If this is not possible, according to Mirela Zupančič, they send a technical team to the field in a day or two. If the problem cannot be resolved then, the manufacturer of the charging station is included. “The problem is mostly due to the overload of the electricity grid and the fuse fails, so the system needs to be reset, which only takes a few minutes. It may also be necessary to update the software at the charging station, which can stop the operation of the charging station and need to be reset again. We have not detected other major problems with charging stations that are easy to use so far. Most cases can therefore be resolved remotely because we tell them how. « 

Spreading filling infrastructure only in Slovenia

In Slovenia, Mooncharge is allowed to be filled in more than a thousand locations, which is achieved in collaboration with Roaming partners. “Of this, a certain proportion of our direct -owned charging stations is a certain proportion of our directly owned, and the exact number varies according to the development of projects and partnerships. We are focused on strengthening and optimizing at home filling infrastructure, where we see the greatest potential for supporting e-mobility. We are also connected to most Roaming partners within Slovenia, so users of other charging service providers can charge at charging stations that are in our system, « explains Moon leader.

On December 1 last year, they ceased to provide charging services abroad, so their system does not include charging stations outside Slovenia, but as Mirela Zupančič provides, that does not mean that they will not have this in the future. “This is a current decision, but we have not made the decision that we will never be that. For charging abroad, it is essential to have an application of any of the other providers. There are many providers of the charging service, including our sister company Moon Power GmbH. This offer, which also covers some foreign countries, is now being promoted, for now they have open Germany, Croatia and Austria, and France, Italy and Poland are opening up. « 

Mirela Zupančič: In the future, they plan to further expand the network in Slovenia, especially by adding new charging points in areas with high user frequency and upgrading stations with more powerful technologies such as fast DCs. Photo: Jože Suhadolnik/Work

In the future, they plan to further expand the network in Slovenia, especially by adding new filling points in areas with high user frequency and upgrading stations with more powerful technologies such as fast DCs. “At the same time, we will continue to deepen cooperation with Roaming partners so that our network will remain the most comprehensive and user -friendly, with an emphasis on simple accessibility and innovative energy efficiency solutions. We believe that this will further encourage the transition to sustainable mobility in Slovenia.  »

Asked who, in addition to Etrel, the suppliers of their charging stations were, Mirela Zupančič replied that they were buying most of the equipment through the Moon Power GmbH sister company. And Etrel is now their supplier, so they no longer buy directly from Etrel. « The events regarding Etrel uncomfortably surprised us, but fortunately we found a good long -term solution relatively quickly, so there was no major impact on our business. »

Charger for multi -dwelling buildings

Although interest in e-mailboxes in older multi-dwelling buildings is increasing, challenges such as electrical infrastructure and coordination between residents are often complex, since the consent of the majority is necessary, if not all residents who are very difficult to reach. Therefore, in Porsche Slovenia, they are now focusing primarily on new buildings, where they are already successfully implementing projects for filling infrastructure, tailored to the needs of residents.

“We offer comprehensive solutions, from planning to maintenance of charging stations, which provides reliable and convenient charging. Also, in older buildings we see great potential, because with the right approach, for example, with modular systems or cost sharing, we can also make it easier to transition to e-mobility there. We are open to cooperate with managers and residents of older facilities and willing to provide adapted solutions that take into account the specific restrictions of these buildings. We believe that demand for such projects will continue to increase in the future, as electric mobility is becoming part of everyday life. « 

Energy self -supply

Today, energy self -supply is very important. So far, they have sold about 370 solar power plants and 30 energy storage. Asked how a novelty for the broader integration of users of their electricity services, that is, merger into the energy community of users, the interviewee said that they had already concluded the first contracts in cooperation with Ngen, and the demand continues. Especially after the abolition of the net metering, they notice an increased interest in their supply of moonelectrics, which, he says, is « particularly attractive to owners of solar power plants ».

Last year, the sale of electric vehicles in general decreased; In addition, the abolition of the annual net-metering has affected the market dynamics, including the Moon brand, which is closely linked to e-mobility and self-sufficient energy solutions. “At Moon, we notice that, despite the decline in interest in electric vehicles, customers are still aware of the long -term benefits of sustainable mobility, such as lower operating costs and a smaller environmental footprint. Our strategy is still focused on comprehensive solutions – from filling infrastructure to solar power plants and energy storage – which allow users to become more energy independence. « 

This year is both in Europe and Slovenia, Mirela Zupančič points out, and again to detect increased interest in electric vehicles – in Slovenia in the first two months the share of electric vehicles among all new cars was more than ten percent, so every tenth car was electric. “The abolition of the annual net metering has really reduced the attractiveness of solar power plants for some households, but at Moon we see the opportunity to adapt to the new conditions. Our solutions, such as the Optimoon system, allow users to optimize consumption, making users still achieve great savings. In addition, the falling prices of solar technologies and subsidies for storage tanks are additional factors that maintain the profitability of investments. ”At the same time, they believe that the demand for integrated energy systems that combine e-mobility and self-supply will again increase in the future, as awareness of durability and energy independence is strengthened.