Number of green vehicles boom in Hungary

The number of vehicles with a green number plate in Hungary exceeded 76,000 in July, the energy ministry said on Thursday, adding that half were electric.

According to the ministry, 21,000 more vehicles were registered as environmentally friendly in the first seven months of the year than in the same period of 2022, while the number of green motorcycles doubled. There are almost 40,000 fully electric cars, 2,500 electric trucks and over 400 e-motorbikes in the country, the statement added.

Since 2017, the government has helped municipalities, hospitals, schools, churches and charities buy around 1,100 “clean and quiet cars, vans, buses, and bicycles”, the statement said, adding that individuals also received subsidies for electric car purchases through the scheme.

The statement also noted the Green Bus programme, under which the government has contributed to the purchase of 139 electric buses for public transport in Budapest and in ten other cities nationwide. During the past 18 months the number of Hungary’s green buses has doubled, to over 200, it added. The ministry added that at the end of last year, Hungary had 2,147 electric charging stations, most of them along motorways and around lake Balaton.