Austria gives electric vehicles a few handy perks – mostly around parking and charging. To make them watertight in law, there are dedicated road signs and supplementary plates. It’s largely about parking at charge points, but you’ll also come across IG-L speed limits, bus lanes and environmental zones for heavy goods vehicles.
There are only a few signs that explicitly refer to electric cars. The focus is on parking at charge points – especially who may park there, and when.
The most important supplementary plate for EVs is the "except electric vehicles" sign, which in Austria looks like this:
You’ll most often see these combinations:
Local councils can grant EVs free parking or extended parking rights. Implementation varies by city:
Note: Parking privileges only apply where the signage says so. When in doubt, check the supplementary plate – or have a quick look at the city’s website.
A genuine home‑field advantage for EVs in Austria: On certain motorway sections, speed limits apply under the Air Pollution Control Act (IG-L) – for example, 100 km/h on the A1 or A12.
However, vehicles powered purely by electricity are exempt from these limits. Condition: the vehicle must have a green number plate.
You’ll see the exemption on roadside signs, for example: "IG-L 100 – does not apply to vehicles with a green number plate."
Austria has no general environmental zones for cars – but it does for lorries:
For cars, there are currently no stickers or environmental zones. If that changes, EVs would likely be exempt – as they already are for lorries.
Some councils are experimenting with extra privileges for EVs:
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