Ireland has one of the highest search rates in Europe for electric vehicles 

Ireland was one of the first countries to have a charging infrastructure that 'really put us up ahead of the pack', but 'we have fallen behind from where we need to be', Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Irish interest in owning electric vehicles (EVs) is growing, with searches for the cars here now outstripping most other European countries, new research has found.

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has admitted that Ireland remains far behind where it needs to be to handle the coming surge in the next decade, as motorists and policymakers alike look to oust their fossil fuel-powered vehicles for more environmentally-friendly transport.

British firm Click4Reg used data collated from search engine optimisation (SEO) website Ahrefs to gauge interest in EVs around Europe.

It found Norwegian motorists are the most interested in EVs, with 38.5 searches per 1,000 people each month.

Malta came second, followed by Nordic countries Iceland and Denmark, with Ireland in fifth position at almost 25 searches per 1,000 every month.

Nordic countries

Nordic countries have long been seen as the vanguard for bringing EVs to their roads. 

A report by the European federation for the electric industry, Eurelectric, and global professional services firm EY, found that of the 308m motor vehicles on Europe’s roads today, 3m, including cars, buses, and trucks, are electric.

It said the continent can expect at least a 1,200% growth to 40m EVs in Europe by 2030, but warned charging infrastructure lags far behind.

Irish motorists' increasing interest in searching for EVs topped that of Sweden and the UK in the Click4Reg study, which will be encouraging for proponents of mass adaption, but a headache for those given the task of ramping up infrastructure in the country.

In December, Mr Ryan told an Institute of International and European Affairs event on Irish energy policy and the transition to net-zero emissions  that "we will have act fast, because these cars are coming at scale, and will need powering".

Charging infrastructure

Ireland was one of the first countries to have a charging infrastructure that "really put us up ahead of the pack", but "we have fallen behind from where we need to be", Mr Ryan said.

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan told an Institute of International and European Affairs event on Irish energy policy and the transition to net-zero emissions  that 'we will have act fast, because these cars are coming at scale, and will need powering'.

There are currently about 1,100 public charge points available countrywide, according to the ESB.

The firm said it is currently investing €20m in a "comprehensive programme to expand and enhance the charging network".

While interest in EVs is growing in Ireland, motorists are still somewhat reluctant to take the actual plunge in purchasing, a different dataset found earlier this year.

Global consumer insight data firm Statista showed Ireland lagged behind most of its EU neighbours when it came to the highest share of EVs in sales last year, but is nevertheless ahead of global powers like the US and China.

Ireland's share of plug-in EVs in new passenger car sales in 2020 was 7.4%, far behind runaway global leader Norway at almost 75%.