Updated at 1pm

A special tariff will be given to those who buy electric cars and charge them at home, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced on Friday.

Addressing industry experts during the first E-mobility summit, Dr Muscat said the government was in talks with Enemalta to enrol a pilot project offering special tariffs to those charging their cars at home.

Dr Muscat used his speech to set Malta an ambitious target.

"We are ready to listen to proposals on how we can make the Maltese Islands the first European state running its cars on electricity," he said. 

Affordability was a key issue the government was studying, he said, adding the question of whether people could afford electric vehicles could not be ignored.

"Can authorities require a person to buy an e-car when their own car is still working?" he asked. "These are important questions which cannot be sidelined," he added.

Another major consideration was whether the national power grid could sustain an increase in demand, Dr Muscat said.

A national consultation on clean technology was also envisaged, Dr Muscat said, adding a report on electric vehicles would be completed soon. 

"There are barriers but innovation should hold the key to overcoming them," he said. "We want to be trend-setters in Europe and in the world, changing the way we live and work," Dr Muscat added.

Earlier this year, Dr Muscat had suggested Gozo as the ideal test ground for a widespread rollout of electric vehicles.

He also praised "the best MEP in the European Parliament" - Miriam Dalli - for her work in curbing transport emissions. 

The MEP’s ambitious plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions from cars and vans by nearly 40 per cent by 2030 was given the thumbs up by the European Union last year. 

MEP candidate Peter Agius had stressed some time ago that the users of electric cars needed incentives to compensate for their consumption costs.