Malta Charges Ahead: Schneider Electric & GasanZammit Motors Roll Out 200 EV Chargers Island-Wide

Schneider Electric and GasanZammit Motors Ltd Drive Malta’s Electric Future—One Charger at a Time
By Hot Malta

On a sleepy Wednesday morning in Qormi, the scent of fresh pastizzi still lingered in the air as a small crowd gathered outside GasanZammit Motors’ flagship showroom. But they weren’t here for the usual diesel-guzzling pickups or family SUVs. Instead, two sleek new Schneider Electric EVlink fast-chargers gleamed in the Mediterranean sun, their LED rings glowing like miniature halos over the asphalt.

The ribbon-cutting—performed by none other than Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia wielding an oversized pair of golden scissors—marked the official launch of a nationwide partnership between French energy giant Schneider Electric and Malta’s own GasanZammit Motors Ltd. Together, they promise to roll out more than 200 public and semi-public charging points across the islands within 18 months, the largest single deployment of EV infrastructure in Maltese history.

A Cultural Shift on Four Wheels
Malta may be Europe’s smallest member state, but our obsession with cars is outsized. According to National Statistics Office data, there are 635 vehicles per 1,000 residents—one of the densest ratios on the planet. Narrow village cores built for donkey carts now groan under the weight of double-parked hatchbacks; summer festa fireworks compete with exhaust fumes for the night air.

“Changing the car culture here is like convincing Nanna to swap rabbit stew for quinoa,” jokes Maria Grech, a 27-year-old teacher from Gżira who pre-ordered an electric Mini after test-driving it at the event. “But once people realise they can top up while grabbing an espresso at the local kiosk, range anxiety melts faster than an August ħobż biż-żejt.”

Local Context, Global Tech
Schneider Electric brings the hardware: modular chargers ranging from 7 kW wallboxes perfect for townhouse garages to 150 kW ultra-fast units capable of adding 100 km in the time it takes to eat a plate of timpana. GasanZammit provides the Maltese know-how—navigating labyrinthine planning permits, negotiating with parish priests for church-car-park access, and translating technical manuals into Maltese and English side-by-side.

The first wave of installations will focus on “community triangles”: school, church, and football club. Picture the square outside the Mosta Rotunda, the car park by the Sliema pitch, or the courtyard of the Gozo ferry terminal. Each site will host two chargers and a small canopy of photovoltaic panels feeding clean energy directly into cars—and, when idle, back into the grid.

Impact Beyond the Battery
During the pilot phase in Żebbuġ, residents noticed an unexpected perk: reduced engine noise during evening band marches. “The village felt… calmer,” says Marlene Camilleri, owner of nearby confectionery shop Dolceria. “Less revving, more conversation.” Her ricotta-filled kannoli sales jumped 15% on weekends after the chargers arrived, as EV drivers lingered.

The partnership also pledges to train 60 local electricians—“EV evangelists,” in Schneider’s words—through a free certification course at MCAST. Graduate Karl Briffa, 22, from Marsaskala, grins ear-to-ear showing off his new toolkit. “I used to service boat engines in the summer. Now I’m wiring the future.”

Looking Ahead
By 2025, the network aims to place a charger within 5 km of any Maltese household—roughly the distance from Valletta to Sliema. An accompanying app will integrate with Tallinja cards, allowing seamless payment across buses, ferries, and charging points: one small step for Malta, one giant leap for island mobility.

As the ceremony wound down, Minister Farrugia hopped into a fully electric Jeep Avenger for a quick spin, trailed by a phalanx of journalists and one bemused pastizz vendor. “Mela, even politics is going green,” the vendor quipped, flipping another ricotta parcel onto the griddle.

Whether we’re ready or not, the quiet hum of electric motors is about to replace the diesel growl on our festa streets. And if the smell of warm pastizzi can coexist with zero-emission motoring, perhaps Malta’s next chapter will be written not in exhaust, but in electrons.