Italy is giving people nearly $13,000 to help them buy a BEV

Italy is now offering juicy incentives to people who want to buy a new BEV, AKA a battery electric vehicle.

With these incentives, more or less equivalent to the now-defunct Federal Tax Credit in the US, you could end up buying some EVs for less than $6,000.

It’s important to note that these incentives are only available to people who want to buy a battery electric vehicle, which means they don’t apply to hybrids or even hydrogen cars.

And there are also two more caveats.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie

You can theoretically buy a new BEV for less than $6,000

Italy is offering significant incentives to buyers who want to purchase a new battery electric car.

You can get up to $13,000 off the sticker price, but there are a few things worth noting.

First, these incentives are only available to low-income households.

Specifically, those who earn €30,000 ($35,000) or less can get up to €11,000 (around $13,000).

And if you earn less than €40,000 ($47,000) per year, you can still get a €9,000 (around $10,500).

Second, the incentive is only granted to buyers who trade in – and scrap – a vehicle manufactured before 2015.

In theory, this means you can get a Leapmotor T03, one of the cheapest cars available in the country, for €4,900 – equivalent $5,700.

In fact, the Chinese automaker used the new incentives as a marketing opportunity to tell would-be buyers that a new T03 could be cheaper than your bicycle.

“You paid more for your bicycle,” the caption reads.

There’s no unified strategy for EVs

As you may have noticed, there’s no unified strategy for EVs.

Not just globally but also locally.

In the US, for instance, you can no longer get tax credits at a federal level, but you can still get state-specific incentives.

It’s the same in Europe, where adoption rates vary dramatically between countries.

Norway, by far Europe’s most ‘electrified’ country, is very close to becoming the world’s first EV-only country.

By contrast, there are countries, including Italy, ironically, where the adoption rate is relatively low.

Then there’s the curious case of Ethiopia, which became the first country to ban the import of new EVs.