STour zero-emission coach grant
Grants for existing public bus concession holders in the Netherlands to buy or financially lease new battery-electric coaches; this cohort still has funding.
Αυτή η ευκαιρία είναι προς το παρόν διαθέσιμη στα Αγγλικά.
STour supports the extra cost of a battery-electric coach compared with an equivalent diesel coach. Small enterprises can receive 60% of these extra costs, up to €180,000 per coach; medium-sized enterprises 50%, up to €150,000; and large enterprises 30%, up to €90,000. Complete RVO’s SME declaration to establish your company size. EU size rules take staff, turnover or balance-sheet totals and linked or partner enterprises into account.
The total grant must be at least €25,000. A concession holder and other applicants in the same corporate group can receive support for at most 15 coaches under the concession allocation. Other public purchase subsidies reduce the STour grant, and you cannot claim the Dutch environmental investment tax deduction (MIA) for the same vehicle. For financial leasing, eligible extra costs compare all future payments for the electric and reference-vehicle leases, valued in today’s money; energy, insurance and maintenance costs are excluded.
RVO pays 70% of the award in advance. After delivery and registration, request the final grant calculation and remaining payment within 12 months of the award. If delivery is delayed, you can request up to 12 additional months, supported by a producer’s statement proving the delay and timely ordering.
Eligibility
- The currently funded route is for a licensed operator already holding a public bus transport concession: permission to operate scheduled bus services open to everyone. The general coach-company allocation is oversubscribed; those applicants depend on concession funds remaining after the deadline.
- Your business must be registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK) and based in the Netherlands. Apply before signing a quote or ordering the coach, and before it is registered in your name.
- The coach must be new, fully battery-electric, in category M3, have a maximum mass above 5 tonnes, have at least 8 passenger seats and be approved by RDW for 100 km/h. Its first admission, first Dutch registration and registration to you must share the same date. Hydrogen coaches are excluded.
- You must not be an “undertaking in difficulty” under EU state-aid rules. This includes insolvency or qualifying for creditor-requested insolvency proceedings; rescue aid with an unpaid loan or a guarantee still in force, or an ongoing restructuring plan; and certain losses exceeding half of capital, with an exception to that loss test for SMEs less than three years old. For non-SMEs, both a debt-to-equity ratio above 7.5 and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation below interest costs in each of the past two years also trigger the exclusion. Unlawful aid combinations and projects started before applying are rejected.
- Keep the coach continuously registered to you for four years from first registration. For a leased coach, the register may instead record a verstrekkingsvoorbehoud in your name, the permitted alternative to registering you as the vehicle’s owner; retain it for four years from the date that reservation is registered. Notify RVO promptly in writing of material changes and cooperate with checks. Selling early can mean proportional repayment. A replacement may complete the remaining period if it is another qualifying new coach and you do not apply for a new subsidy for it; report the replacement and retain its purchase agreement for that remaining period.
- Retain the original purchase or financial-lease contract until four years after first registration.
How to apply
- Κατάσταση
- κλείνει 30 Νοε 2026
- Ανοίγει
- Κλείνει
- Όροι του κύκλου αιτήσεων
- Funding remains for existing public bus concession holders. The general coach-company allocation is oversubscribed; it can receive only any concession-budget remainder after closing.
Apply to RVO through the STour “Direct aanvragen” link. You need eHerkenning level 3 with authorisation 3. Include an unsigned purchase or financial-lease quote, coach details, any other public subsidies and evidence of the diesel reference price less than six months old.
RVO processes applications in order of arrival by date. If complete applications arrive on the day the budget runs out, a notary-supervised lottery determines their order.