July 11 (SeeNews) - The number of registered electric vehicles (EV) in Bulgaria rose 82% in the 12 months to July 1, reaching 4,614, state news agency BTA reported.
There was a 58% year-on-year increase in plug-in hybrid cars to 25,467, with 21,842 of them using a combination of petrol and electricity, BTA reported over the weekend, quoting interior ministry data.
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The rise in EV use in Bulgaria is in line with upwards trends across Europe, where electric car registrations in 2020 increased to 1,325,000 from 550,000 in 2019, according to information on the 27-member bloc plus the UK, Iceland and Norway as published by the European Environment Agency in late 2021.
In June, the European Parliament endorsed the Commission's proposal to ban internal combustion engines in EU car fleets from 2035 as part of its goal to achieve carbon-free road transport in the bloc.
According to a proposal made by the Commission in July 2021, targets would be set to reduce emissions across the EU to 55% for cars and 50% for vans from 2030, to facilitate the implementation of the Green Deal.
In early 2022, Bulgaria's state-run Electricity System Operator (ESO) signed a memorandum of cooperation with the association of Bulgarian municipalities, the energy industry chamber, the electric vehicles association BAEPS, electric vehicles industrial cluster EVIC as well as the EV owners' association, which foresees the installation of adequate nationwide EV charging infrastructure, non-governmental organisation Bulgarian Energy and Mining Forum said in March. Bulgaria's aim will be to install 10,000 EV charge points within the next five years, the NGO said at the time, adding that the state of the infrastructure, potential geographical locations and the financial parameters of the required infrastructure resources are yet to be explored.