While electric cars have so far been considered a choice for wealthier individuals, more favorable financing conditions and a wider range of lower-priced electric vehicles could make them popular among everyone, according to Estonian financial services group LHV.
According to statistics from the Transport Administration, as of the start of this year, there are a total of 5,991 registered electric cars in Estonia, which accounts only about one percent of all registered vehicles in the country. Of all new cars sold in Estonia last year, six percent were fully electric, but this is significantly less than in most of its neighboring countries. For example, the same figure was nine percent in Latvia, 40 percent in Sweden, and as high as 82 percent in Norway.
The Estonian association of car sales and service companies AMTEL said that demand for electric vehicles in Estonia has so far been significantly lower than the European average, where the sale of electric vehicles accounts for 13-15 percent of new passenger car sales month to month. Comparing the first four months of this year with the same period last year, there is an 11.8 percent growth, but for further growth, it is necessary to bring more mid- and low-priced electric vehicles to the market, including the secondary market.
Erki Link, head of LHV leasing, also noted that while electric cars have so far been the choice of wealthier individuals, making them more accessible could increase their popularity in Estonia.
“We see in our daily work that while previously electric car buyers generally had a higher-income, more and more people are considering this option. Last year, the average price of electric cars purchased with our financing was 49,000 euros, but today you can find much more affordable options among both new and used electric cars. It is important to support people in making such choices, so we also recently made our financing conditions more favorable,” Link said.
LHV Group is the largest domestic financial group and capital provider in Estonia. The main subsidiaries of LHV Group are LHV Pank, LHV Varahaldus, LHV Kindlustus, and LHV Bank Limited. The group companies employ over 1,100 people. As of the end of April, LHV’s banking services are used by 432,000 clients, LHV’s pension funds have 120,000 active clients, and LHV Kindlustus protects 167,000 clients. The group’s subsidiary, LHV Bank, holds a UK banking license and provides banking services to international fintech companies and loans to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Source: BNS
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