At Thursday's Cabinet meeting, Premier Su Tseng-chang received a briefing from the Ministry of Economic Affairs on measures regarding electric scooter and energy-saving equipment subsidies that will be implemented in 2023 to aid the transition to net zero. The measures are designed to benefit and assist the public by providing further incentives that will encourage more people to purchase electric scooters, retire old, energy-inefficient household electrical appliances, and spur on the service industry to accelerate the phasing out of inefficient electrical equipment. The measures will also help lighten the overall economic burden and reduce the day-to-day living costs of individuals, and represent a significant step forward on the road to achieving the government's target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
To continue reducing the financial burden on electric scooter purchasers and improve the overall environment for electric scooters, the Cabinet on November 3 approved a subsidy program for the electric scooter industry. Beginning in 2023, the program will invest NT$5.8 billion (US$189.7 million) over four years and will offer consumers a maximum NT$8,000 (US$260) subsidy for each electric scooter purchased. Each electric scooter vendor that purchases trial-run electric scooters and maintenance tools will be eligible for maximum subsidies of NT$60,000 (US$1,960) and NT$50,000 (US$1,635), respectively.
To encourage greater use of energy-saving equipment by households and the service industry, beginning in 2023 households will be eligible for an NT$3,000 (US$98) subsidy for each air-conditioner or refrigerator they replace. Before June 14 of 2023, they may also apply for a commodity tax rebate of NT$2,000 (US$65) for each appliance replaced; business owners that replace air conditioning and switch to lighting fixtures that feature the Energy Label will be eligible for maximum subsidies of NT$200,000 (US$6,540) and NT$50,000 (US$1,635), respectively; and proposed energy-saving system projects will be eligible for a maximum subsidy of NT$5 million (US$163,495).
The premier stated that between 2018 and 2022 the government has invested significant resources, resulting in an increase in the number of registered electric scooters from 110,000 in 2017 to 610,000 today, and an increase in battery charging and battery swapping stations from 8,400 in 2017 to nearly 50,000 today.