RES SERBIA 2024: Serbs buying electric cars as second vehicle for a household, but we’re still at the bottom of the list in Europe

Serbia is still at the bottom of the list in Europe when it comes to the purchase of electric cars, and the precondition for the development of this market is infrastructure, which, with three chargers to 100,000 citizens, is insufficiently developed, is the conclusion of the panel dedicated to ESG standards and electromobility at the RES SERBIA 2024 conference in Vrdnik.

When batteries that last for 2000 km are to arrive

The CEO of Delta Auto Group, Aleksandra Djurdjevic, recalled that the first electric BMW had been imported 7-8 years ago and the reactions were of the type “as if we had brought over a flying car.” Today, the share of electric cars in the total sales is 1.5%, whereas in Europe it’s 13%.

– The topic is very current globally, and we are at the bottom of the list in Europe. The trend is for the second car in the household to be electric. It’s fun, quick to start, interesting to ride – pointed out Djurdjevic.

According to her, the first pillar of the development of electric cars is infrastructure. As she says, in Europe as well, there’s a fear that the vehicle will not have enough energy to reach the planned destination.

– We have talked to the minister of infrastructure, by the end of the year, 30 chargers for electric cars on road routes of Serbia have been announced. So far, we have been at three chargers per 100,000 citizens, which is very few – warned Djurdjevic.

She also emphasized the importance of subsidies, which, she says, should have a bigger continuity and it should be known precisely how much money is meant for them, so that the buyers could plan the purchase and so that the importers would not be left with unsold vehicles.

– The production of these vehicles is more expensive, it takes time. The importers have to invest a lot too, maintaining these vehicles is different than with traditional ones. There is talk about batteries which will last for 200 km, which are a game-changer for the industry, but that’s not the reality yet – emphasized Djurdjevic.

She also mentioned that the company was building a multi-brand auto salon of 17,000 m2 in New Belgrade, based on sustainability principles. Material obtained through the recycling of three facilities is used in the construction, and solar panels will be installed as well, which will produce 130,000 kWh of electrical energy per year, whereas the process of water treatment enables the reuse of around 200 to 300 liters of water per car wash.

– It will be the greenest BMW facility in Europe. For us, one of the strategic priorities is to be ESG leaders – said Djurdjevic.

Future jobs for citizens of Serbia lie in green economy

Nicolas Marquier, the regional manager for the Western Balkans at the IFC, reminded that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) had launched the pilot project of eco-industrial parks in five cities of the Western Balkans, aiming for decarbonization and improvement of resource efficiency.

– Kragujevac is one of them. The Western Balkans benefits from the nearshoring trend. The advantage of Serbia and the Western Balkans is that you are close to the EU and that you have funds which you can utilize. There’s great progress in the region, but it’s not moving fast enough. The jobs of the future for the citizens of Serbia, factories, producers lie in the green economy – pointed out Marquier.

He reminded that the EU was increasing regulations in the ESG system and that it was crucial for exporting companies to pay attention to those criteria. And, as he noted, 60% of the region’s exports are to the EU. According to him, economic growth still correlates with increased emissions and that should be changed.

– According to the World Bank report for the Western Balkans, it is possible to reach net zero by 2050, without sacrificing the growth. It is necessary to invest EUR 32 billion a year in climate transition, which is 2% of the GDP of the region – pointed out Marquier and added that 85% of the investments needed to come from the private sector, whereas the region was dominated by state companies.

“We should move from ego to eco”

Srdan Srdanovic, the head of Smart Infrastructure at Siemens, points out that, in 2030, at Siemens, the entire fleet will be electric.

– We have already procured two vehicles and the feeling is like riding on a cloud. But we can’t expect somebody to stand behind the development of the network if there are no vehicles, and a 1.5% share is truly small. Our comfort zone has become narrow, if we don’t have 3 gas stations at 150 meters, we don’t want to drive. We need to evolve, we should move from ego to eco, that is my appeal to everybody – said Srdanovic.

The moderator of the panel “E-Mobility and Sustainable Development in Traffic: Sustainable Development as the Basic Principle of the Operations of a Responsible Industry” was Tamara Bullock, the director of Corporate Affairs for Europe and Americas at Tetra Pak, and Sinisa Janjusevic, the country manager for Serbia at Interenergo, also participated.

The eKapija portal is a media sponsor of the RES SERBIA 2024 conference, which is held for the fourth year in a row. It is organized by the Renewable Energy Sources of Serbia Association.

M. Dedic

Obnovljivi izvori energije Srbije

PLC Interenergo doo Beograd

Tetra pak Production doo Beograd

Siemens d.o.o. Beograd

Delta Automoto d.o.o. Novi Beograd

Renewable Energy Sources of Serbia Association

Interenergo

Tetra Pak

Siemens Srbija

International Finance Corporation

IFC

Delta Auto Group

Aleksandra Đurđević

Siniša Janjušević

Tamara Bullock

Srdan Srdanović

Nicolas Marquier

RES SERBIA 2024

sustainable development

green economy

eco industrial parks

electric cars

ESG standards

electromobility