The Italian government’s new incentive plan to boost the purchase of bicycles and e-bikes started on Sept. 25 and will last for as long as the €7.7 million funds are available.
Another €5.1 million in incentives is destined for the purchase of motorbikes, but the introduction of those aids is expected to start a few days later, on Oct. 5.
The government has also allocated €1.7 million to cover incentive applications lodged during the previous scheme, which started on April 22 and whose €8.75 million of funds ran out in mid-May. The program was affected by technical problems, and the system’s server even seized up because of the excessive number of retailers connected.
For bicycles and e-bikes, the old incentive package offered a contribution worth 30 percent of the price tag of a bicycle up to a maximum of €700. With the new scheme, the aid will still be worth 30 percent of the price but up to a maximum of €200 for bicycles and €450 for e-bikes.
The trade association ANCMA believes that the new round of incentives could lead to the purchase of 60,000 bicycles, boosting this year’s sales to about 2 million units compared with 1.78 million in 2008.
ANCMA is in talks with the government to possibly renew the incentive program in the future and has the support of the environment ministry.
