Buying an electric car in Malta can still come with a substantial government grant in 2026.
For a normal passenger EV — officially classed as an M1 vehicle, meaning a car with up to 9 seats including the driver — the grant is a flat amount based on the selling price of the car.
| New EV selling price | Grant |
|---|---|
| Up to €40,000 | €8,000 |
| Over €40,000 up to €100,000 | €6,000 |
So if your EV costs €30,000 or €40,000, you still get €8,000. It is not calculated as a percentage of the car’s price.
What does that mean in percentage terms?
The cheaper the EV, the bigger the grant is as a percentage of the purchase price.
| EV price | Grant | Effective saving |
|---|---|---|
| €25,000 | €8,000 | 32% |
| €30,000 | €8,000 | 26.7% |
| €35,000 | €8,000 | 22.9% |
| €40,000 | €8,000 | 20% |
| €50,000 | €6,000 | 12% |
| €75,000 | €6,000 | 8% |
| €100,000 | €6,000 | 6% |
That makes the incentive particularly meaningful for lower-priced mainstream EVs.
Why does the grant fall if the car costs more than €40,000?
Transport Malta sets the two grant bands but does not give a detailed policy explanation for why the grant drops from €8,000 to €6,000 above €40,000.
The practical effect is straightforward: the scheme gives proportionally more support to cheaper EVs than to more expensive cars.
How do I apply?
For a private buyer, the grant should not be thought of simply as an automatic dealer discount.
Transport Malta states that when a new eligible EV is purchased, the grant is paid as a single lump sum, subject to the scheme conditions. The vehicle must be genuinely new — meaning it has never previously been registered in another country.
The safest approach is to check the current Transport Malta application process and eligibility before committing to the purchase, particularly because schemes can be amended or close once funding is exhausted.
Official new-EV scheme: Transport Malta — grant schemes on new electric vehicles and pedelecs 2026
What about buying a used EV?
There is also a separate 2026 grant scheme for used electric cars.
For a used M1 passenger EV, the amount depends on the age of the car when it is registered in Malta:
| Age of used EV | Grant |
|---|---|
| More than 1 day and not more than 3 months old | €4,000 |
| More than 3 months and not more than 6 months old | €3,000 |
The age is measured between the vehicle’s first registration in any country and its registration in Malta.
So this is really aimed at very recent or nearly-new EVs, rather than older second-hand cars.
What used EVs qualify?
The used car must come from an eligible market. Transport Malta currently lists:
- EU member states
- United Kingdom
- Channel Islands
- Isle of Man
- Monaco
- Andorra
- San Marino
- Northern Ireland
The purchaser of the vehicle is considered the applicant, and the used EV must be registered in Malta under the scheme conditions.
The total grant also cannot exceed the actual purchase price of the used vehicle.
Official used-EV scheme: Transport Malta — used electric vehicles 2026
Can I get extra money if I scrap my old car?
Potentially, yes.
For the used-EV scheme, an additional scrappage grant is available if you deregister an eligible vehicle that is at least 10 years old. For a normal passenger car, the current scrappage grant is:
- €500 if the licence expired more than 3 months before deregistration
- €1,000 if the licence expired no more than 3 months before deregistration
The vehicle must actually be deregistered with Transport Malta; simply having it physically destroyed is not enough.
New or nearly new — which looks better?
A new EV costing €30,000 could qualify for an €8,000 grant, effectively reducing the cost to €22,000 before any other applicable support.
A nearly-new EV may already have experienced some depreciation and could still attract another €3,000–€4,000 grant.
That means it can be worth comparing the grant-adjusted price of a new EV with the grant-adjusted price of a nearly-new one, rather than simply comparing their advertised prices.
The takeaway
The headline numbers are:
- €8,000 for a new passenger EV costing up to €40,000
- €6,000 for a new passenger EV costing over €40,000 and up to €100,000
- €4,000 for an eligible used EV up to 3 months old
- €3,000 for an eligible used EV between 3 and 6 months old
- potentially another €500–€1,000 if you scrap an eligible older passenger car
For a €30,000 new EV, an €8,000 grant represents a 26.7% saving, so the incentive can materially change the economics of switching from petrol or diesel.
And once you own the car, running costs can also be relatively low. See our guide “How Much Does It Cost to Charge an EV at Home in Malta?”