When Nikolai Nedeljko bought his electric car two years ago, he had the benefit of a 5,000-euro subsidy from the Serbian state. However, he also had to fork out for a charger in his garage, because there are so few on the roads.
Even now, travelling in an EV in Serbia can be an adventure.
“You can travel anywhere in Serbia where there are highways, that’s not a problem,” said Nedeljko. “But if you’re driving on local roads, through eastern or western Serbia, or towards Montenegro, it’s very uncertain. There’s a good chance you might arrive at a charger you saw listed, only to find that it doesn’t work.”
“The only alternative when you run out of power is to call a tow service.”
Electric cars remain a rarity in Serbia, accounting for under 0.5 per cent of all vehicles, or roughly 7,200. That compares with 1.73 per cent of all passenger cars in the European Union in 2024.
According to Filip Mitrovic, coordinator of the eMobility cluster at Serbia’s Chamber of Commerce, the number has grown by more than 2,000 since April last year, “which clearly shows a growth trend”.
But automotive journalist Lidija Piroski, editor of Vrele Gume [Hot Tyres], said Serbian consumers remain “cautious”.