OREANDA-NEWS. November 01, 2011. Minister of Social Affairs Hanno Pevkur handed over the keys to electric cars to five Tallinn social workers who will become the first to be able to use the Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars for their job.

It is planned to provide a total of 507 Mitsubishi i-MiEVs to municipalities and social workers at AS Hoolekandeteenused. The cars are specially customized for cold climates. In the first application round, the Ministry of Social Affairs received applications for 379 electric cars, while additional applications are expected from local governments for the remaining 128 cars.

“In the first round, all municipalities that put in an application received the desired number of cars,” said Merle Ploompuu, project manager with the finance and property management department of the Ministry of Social Affairs.

“A number of local governments initially expressed the desire for only one car, adding that they plan to take part in the second application round as well. We believe that all 507 cars will have found a user by spring.”

The first 50 Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars will be in users’ hands this year already, while the remaining 457 will arrive next spring and summer.

Estonia will get a network of quick charging networks for the electric cars – around 200 of them countrywide. The chargers will be installed along all primary and secondary roads at a 40-60 kilometre interval and in all cities and settlements with at least 3,000 inhabitants. An international public procurement is under way to establish the charging network, and the winner will be determined by the end of the year. In addition to installing the quick chargers, ordinary chargers will also be installed at all local governments participating in the project, for convenient charging during working hours.

In the framework of the electric car project, individuals and legal persons are eligible for up to 18,000 euros of support for the purchase, made possible by SA KredEx. In addition, up to 1, 000 euros support is being provided for charger purchases and related installation. The support is being provided for purchasing an electric car from a country in the EEA or Switzerland and bearing a European Union type approval. The car must have at least a two-year warranty, the battery, a five-year warranty, and the applicant must be the first owner of the car.