Of 22,782 applications to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, 9,697 have been approved, according to statistics as of Sept. 20.
Among other things, the household's income, number of children, share sales, home address and the car's price tag affect whether you can receive the support.
The potential here is completely missed, says Stjernvall, calling the criteria "unreasonably complicated."
It is a concern that this group that has been decided will have the opportunity to apply for the support is not the same group that generally buys cars that are a few years old and cost perhaps several hundred thousand kronor, he says.
Lack of cars
The supply on the market also has an impact.
The problem is that there aren't very many used electric cars that have a low price, says Stjernvall.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency does not want to review the figures.
We had not set any direct goals for the first half of the year, but rather we have more long-term goals that we will follow up on in the longer term. But we still think that we have received a good number of applications, says Elin Hall, expert at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
The authority has mapped out the conditions under which most people fail.
"Partly, it's something we need to look at more closely and analyze what it looks like and why. But we know the reason for the rejections and we can see that it's too high an income that makes up a large part of the rejections we have," says Hall.
She emphasizes that many people may misunderstand the income requirement.
We are talking about income and not about salary. So it can be salary or pension, but also surplus capital. In addition, we count all adults in the household. Then it also depends on the composition of the household.
Not easy to understand
The authority wants to help households navigate.
There is a function on our website to get help calculating this, because it is not easy to understand yourself, says Hall.
The extent to which electric car speculators use the function is unclear.
We don't know any details about it. We know that their income is too high. But whether they are taking a chance, are right on the border, or have misunderstood and calculated on salary instead of income, I can't answer.
Will you adjust the criteria for receiving the support?
It is part of our mission to evaluate it. If there is reason to change anything, it is something we will have to come back to,” says Elin Hall at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
Facts: Criteria for the electric car premium
You must live in a rural municipality or in an area where there is limited access to public transport.
No one in your household may have an income so high that they pay state income tax. The household's total income may not exceed 80 percent of the average income.
No one in the household may already own an electric car or plug-in hybrid.
It must be an electric car (not hybrid) and the price must be under 450,000 SEK.
The support will be SEK 1,300 per month for a maximum of 36 months – a total of SEK 46,800 for the entire period. In addition, you can receive a starting grant of SEK 18,000 if the household has less than 50 percent of the average income.
Source: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
