Astypalea: The First Smart & Sustainable Mediterranean Island

Greece’s pioneering smart mobility project on the island of Astypalea has moved into high gear, with the first Volkswagen electric vehicles undergoing test drives, a special subsidy program being in place, and leading Greek banks rolling out special lending programs to support the project.

The Smart Astypalea Project, announced late last year, is a groundbreaking joint initiative of the Greek state and Volkswagen Group. Serving as a model of sustainable development for other islands, the project aims to replace the existing 1,500 conventionally fueled vehicles on Astypalea with e-vehicles, introduce innovative on-demand mobility services, and promote the use of renewable energy sources.

The first electric vehicles arrived on the island in early June, which also marked the official inauguration of the project, for use by the police, coastguard and at the local airport. More recently, island residents were invited to test drive Volkswagen’s e-up!, ID.3 and ID.4 models of electric vehicles during a three-day event, which drew enthusiastic participation.

The Hellenic Republic has developed “e astypalea” – a special subsidy program for locals, promoting the purchase of electric cars, bicycles, motorcycles, vans and private charging points. In addition to this, two of Greece’s leading banks – National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank – announced that they would make loans available for Astypalea residents transitioning to e-vehicles. The loans are part of a broader lending initiative by Greek banks to provide financing for Greece’s ambitious Green Deal program.

Originally published on EnterpriseGreece