Cabinet exempts electric cars from registration fees

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to exempt electric cars from registration fees, which range between JD8,000 and JD9,000, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The introduction of the incentives, the government said, seeks to encourage people buy plug-in cars to cut fuel bills and to protect the environment, according to Petra. 

Finance Minister Umayya Toukan said that there are directives by His Majesty King Abdullah to promote the use of electric cars to protect the environment and lower energy bills. 

He indicated that the government has previously exempted such vehicles from customs duties and sales tax, pointing out to the recent decision to exempt batteries of hybrid cars from taxes and duties. 

By exempting electric vehicles from registration fees, the Cabinet has taken all measures to encourage their use, the minister was quoted as saying by Petra. 

Motorists will still need to pay licensing fees at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Department, around JD1,000 annually, in return for “services on the road and infrastructure”, he added. 

Electric cars are currently used by some in Jordan, including Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, several Cabinet members, Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh and Senate President Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh, in addition to several ministers and senior officials. 

During the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa in May this year, held on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea, a memorandum of understanding was signed with manufacturers of electric cars — Tesla, BMW and Renault — to gradually adopt the use of electric vehicles in the public sector as an environment-friendly means of transport. 

In an initiative to support this move, Manaseer Group will offer supercharge services for electric vehicles at various gas stations throughout Jordan.  Mercedes has also announced its intention to launch its electric car models in the Middle East, starting with Jordan.

By the end of this year, about 10 solar-powered electric car-charging stations are expected to be operating in Amman, according to the Jordan Competiveness Programme, which helped attract an investor to build the stations.