Fundo Ambiental Reopens €20 Million EV Purchase Incentive for May–June — €4,000 to €5,000 per Car, with Bikes, Mopeds and Vans Now Inside the Same Notice

Environment and Energy Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho confirmed in a parliamentary debate on Friday, 24 April 2026, that a new round of the electric-mobility purchase incentive will open “between May and June” with a total envelope of €20 million — a 14% step up on the €17.6 million assigned in December 2025. The notice is being prepared by the Fundo Ambiental and will be published on the fund's portal once the regulation is signed. Minister Carvalho described vehicle acquisition support as one of the “emblematic measures” of the executive's climate-action strategy, and presented it in the same breath as the ongoing Programa de Apoio ao Edifício Mais Sustentável.

How much the state will put on the cheque

For a passenger electric vehicle, the incentive ranges from €4,000 to €5,000 depending on the applicant category (individual, family with special needs, or enterprise). The vehicle list price — VAT and standard optional equipment included — cannot exceed €38,500 for a standard car or €55,000 for a vehicle with five or more seats, a cap intended to keep high-end Teslas and German estates out of the programme. Electric vans and light commercial vehicles remain eligible under a separate tranche within the same notice.

Two-wheel and micro-mobility categories have been expanded:

• Electric bicycles (conventional, assisted and cargo): between €500 and €1,500
• Conventional cargo bicycles: inside the same €500 to €1,500 band
• Electric mopeds, motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles: up to €1,500 per vehicle

Why this round matters more than the last one

The December 2025 tranche, designed to disburse on purchases still being made during 2025 and early 2026, was exhausted in hours. According to data supplied to Parliament, the €8.8 million carved out for individual buyers covered only 2,200 incentives, and the full €17.6 million envelope was gone within a single working day. The May–June 2026 notice is therefore being written to a significantly higher demand level than last year's equivalent, and the public is still absorbing the cost shock from the fuel price realignment triggered by the Washington–Tehran escalation — which, as of this week, was still keeping diesel and petrol several cents above February averages on ERSE's real-time comparator.

The mechanics: what applicants need to prepare

While the final despacho has yet to land, the framework is expected to carry over three constants from previous Fundo Ambiental rounds:

• Applications through the fundoambiental.pt portal, using the Chave Móvel Digital for identification
• Registration of the vehicle in the applicant's name in Portugal within 120 days of the incentive approval
• A three-year “lock-in” during which the beneficiary cannot resell the vehicle abroad without repaying the subsidy pro-rata

Prior years also required the scrappage of an older internal-combustion vehicle for the higher tier — typically a car at least ten years old registered in the applicant's name — though the final text for 2026 has not yet confirmed whether the trade-in condition will apply to every category.

Read the print before you buy

The headline number is €20 million, but the available funding per applicant category will be split inside the notice, and the individual-buyer tranche in past years has been the first to close. Expats who have been waiting for the 2026 round to order an EV should have the Chave Móvel Digital active, the Fundo Ambiental portal account pre-registered, and the dealership invoice ready to upload the moment the notice opens. Last year, that was the difference between getting a cheque and watching the window shut before lunchtime.