Interest in electric cars continues to wane amid price volatility, CSO figures suggest

“The decision to reduce grants has had a detrimental effect on sales,” said Geotab vice president for Ireland and the UK David Savage. Pic: John Walton

The number of electric cars licensed since the start of 2024 dropped 4% compared to the same period a year earlier, suggesting interest continues to wane amid price volatility.

During the last four months, electric cars made up 13% of all new vehicles licensed for the first time this year, compared to 17% in the same period a year earlier, figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed.

However, this decrease follows a period of rapid growth as the share of electric cars in the total number of new cars licensed grew from 1% in 2018 to 19% in 2023.

At the same time, the share of diesel cars fell. In 2018, 54% of all new cars licensed were diesel cars compared with 22% in 2023.

The declining interest in electric vehicles echoes recent findings by Geotab, a motor industry data provider.

A report published by the company last month found that Ireland ranked 10th for electric vehicle sales across Europe last year.

“The decision to reduce grants has had a detrimental effect on sales,” said Geotab vice president for Ireland and the UK David Savage.

Meanwhile, some of the biggest players in the industry including Elon Musk’s Tesla and Chinese electric car giant Byd have engaged in a price war due to the weakening customer demand.

These price cuts did cause some upset to those had purchased a new EV in 2023, according to the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI), as the depreciation of their vehicle was accelerated.

SEAI programme manager for electric vehicles and demand generation Emer said in a blog post that this price uncertainty may give some “pause for thought”.

The CSO figures also showed the total number of new cars licensed in April increased by 1,132 vehicles, or 10%, when compared to the same month a year earlier.