Ireland’s EV revolution is accelerating, but Government support must keep pace
Barriers to the take-up of electric vehicles include range anxiety and lack of charging infrastructure.
Electric cars are set to become a lot more visible on Irish roads in the next few months, but advocates from a variety of areas want the Government to ensure we see even more of them in future.
We’re nearing 200,000 of them already — admittedly still only a small portion of the overall fleet — and now they’re going to stand out a lot more from the crowd.
Last month, minister for transport Darragh O’Brien unveiled new registration plates to “make it easier” to spot vehicles that emit no C02 emissions on Irish roads.
It’s literally a green stripe along the right hand side of the reg plate.
If you’re buying a new electric vehicle, the dealership can provide you with the green plate. If you already own one, you can retrofit your existing plate through registered suppliers.
The Department of Transport said these plates would help create awareness around the “changing societal norm”, as people move towards zero emission vehicles and away from the typical petrol and diesel cars. It said research showed this could have a positive influence on others to invest in more sustainable products.
Mr O’Brien also said it would “normalise the idea of zero-emission driving”.
During a summer where we’ve again seen extreme weather across the continent and a heatwave in Ireland, it’s clear green plates will not make Ireland meet its climate goals.
Visible markers are all well and good, but the Government is being urged to keep up the momentum that has grown in EV sales this year and continue to incentivise their take-up going forward.
Mr O’Brien himself said it was a “small but effective step”, as he pointed to the €100m that had been allocated to support EV adoption and infrastructure across the country.
And he was speaking on what has been a good year for the electric car in Ireland, as the last year has seen a fairly rapid growth in the number of electric vehicles on Irish roads.
According to the most recent Climate Action Plan, there were 139,000 EVs on Irish roads at the end of August 2024.
Government data to the end of May shows 176,680 electric vehicles on the roads. This is an increase of 27% in the space of just nine months.
While it is obviously some ways behind the then-Government's overly ambitious aim of one million vehicles, it is a significant boost coming from a point where EV sales had been going in the wrong direction.
According to statistics from the Central Statistics Office, there was a rise of 34% in new private electric cars licensed (17,075) in the first seven months of the year when compared with the same period in 2024 (12,765).
At the same time, the number of new petrol cars sold has fallen 14%, while the number of new diesel cars sold has fallen 23%.
The big car makers selling in Ireland are certainly seeing the growth. Earlier this month, Toyota said 97% of its total sales are now made up of electrified vehicles and said there had been a “dramatic rise” in EV sales in the past year, which highlights “the changing attitudes of Irish drivers towards electrified vehicles”.
Meanwhile, car loan applications and values reached their highest level on record earlier this year, according to the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).
The banking group linked the surge in car loans to the growth in demand for EVs.
“Looking more closely at key categories, there has been a continued surge in car loans, which grew by 21.5% year on year to 19,552, while the value of these loans increased by 25% to €259m over the same period,” its head of sector research and analysis Anthony O’Brien said.
“These are the highest car loan volumes and values since the data series began in 2020. The continued growth in electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles is likely contributing to these increases, which according to CSO figures, accounted for 32.2% of new private cars licensed in Q1 2025.”
Advocates say those who make the switch notice quick savings in the day-to-day costs of running their car.
They can be far cheaper to run, particularly if electricity customers switch to a cheaper night-time tariff and charge their car overnight.
Analysis from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, for example, has suggested it would cost about €10.40 to drive a typical petrol car 100km and €8.60 for a typical diesel car.
For an electric car, on the other hand, it said this would cost €3.38.
While it’s cheaper to run and more affordable models have come on stream, some sticking points to take-up of EVs remain, like range anxiety and charging infrastructure around the country.
When combined together, a driver using their EV in and around Dublin can feel more confident their vehicle will last than drivers in areas like West Cork, where they have to be a lot more organised and plan their routes in order to make sure they can find a charger if needed.
Earlier this year, Mr O’Brien unveiled the country’s Regional and Local EV Charging Network Plan, setting targets for local authorities to drive EV infrastructure development.
He vowed Government plans would ensure “no gaps in coverage” and help deliver the “charging infrastructure people need, where they need it — at home, on the road, and at key destinations and neighbourhoods across communities”.
While the ESB regularly rolls out new electric charging points, such as a new high-power charging point at a SuperValu in Cavan town last month, drivers still on the fence over making the switch will want to see a good deal more charging infrastructure made available, particularly in harder-to-reach areas.
Focus will now switch to the coalition’s budget announcement that is now just weeks away, as to what will be in there to support the continued take-up of EVs in Ireland.
And there’s certainly money there. When the Government’s much-vaunted revised National Development Plan was published last month, it included €24.33bn for transport.
The Department of Transport said specifically that investment under the NDP would include “significant grant and infrastructural support for the move towards electric vehicles”.
Many want to see that now followed through.
Brian Cooke, director general of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, told the the market had rebounded in 2025, but supports like the SEAI grant and VRT relief must be maintained and extended to preserve trust and confidence in the market.
“The market needs stability, and with no guarantees beyond 2025, planning becomes difficult and adds to the broader uncertainties surrounding BEVs,” he said.
He said the current benefit-in-kind threshold must be extended for three years to avoid raising the tax on EVs and dampening demand.
Mr Cooke said additional measures to broaden the pool of consumers purchasing EVs could include a scrappage scheme, social leasing scheme and a Vat reduction for businesses. An EV salary sacrifice scheme should also be considered.
"With advances in battery technology, range anxiety is easing; however, charging anxiety remains,” he said.
“The roll-out of infrastructure should be accelerated to stay ahead of demand. Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland must receive adequate Government funding to support the growth of both EV registrations and the charging infrastructure.
Geotab, which provides fleet management services, said the Government must focus on getting the best return for its investment with the money it has to spend.
“With the announcing of a €650m package of grants to slash electric car prices last month, the Irish Government will also have to consider whether a similar kickstart is needed to avoid up to €26bn in EU fines if emissions are not tackled by the end of the decade,” Geotab’s Oliver Holt said.
It’s not industry alone in its call for the EV switch.
The Climate Change Advisory Council has been pushing it, and urged the Government to take leadership on the issue.
Its chair Marie Donnelly said earlier this year: “I think part of the issue is that the financial opportunity that is there has not been correctly sold to people.”
She said modern EVs were more affordable than they had been and could achieve ranges up to 400km, but the Government needed to make these and other improvements in the charging infrastructure “more visible” to encourage more take up.
Building on these comments, the council urged the Government this summer to adjust the grants for households and accelerate the roll-out of publicly accessible charging capacity.
It said lower-income households, particularly in areas with limited access to public transport, should access a higher grant level of up to €10,000 for battery electric vehicles costing up to €35,000 to boost affordability. This would be an increase from the current grant of up to €3,500.
“In parallel there needs to be an accelerated roll-out of publicly accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure, alongside the ambitious roll-out of electricity network reinforcement, a measure which is critical to support access to charging for those without off-street parking and the decarbonisation of commercial vehicles,” the Climate Change Advisory Council said.
NGO Social Justice Ireland has made similar calls. In its pre-budget submission, it called for a €48m fund to be established for grants for electric vehicles targeted at rural dwellers only, with grants of up to €10,000 depending on household income, along with a €600 EV home charger grant.
All eyes will be on what the Government has planned to help support EVs in the future to help ensure the momentum continues.
Mr Cooke concluded: “Incentives that may be considered a cost now will ultimately result in being a cost saving in the future. In this context, incentives are not an option; they are a necessity. Now is the time to invest.”
