€63m paid out on electric vehicle grants in one year 

The Government aims to have more than 1m electric cards on the road by 2030.

The Government spent €63m on grants for electric vehicles in 2021, with more than €8.7m of that for two brands of Volkswagen alone.

A total of 13,412 EV grants were issued last year, costing an average of €4,705.

The top five grants were towards the VW ID3 and ID4, the Kia Niro, Nissan Leaf and BMW X5. More than 945 grants were paid to buyers of the VW ID3, costing €4.6m.

The figures are contained in a note sent to the Public Accounts Committee by Ken Spratt, secretary-general at the Department of Transport.

A maximum grant of €5,000 is available from a State-run scheme for new battery electric vehicles (BEV) when purchased privately. 

A similar grant scheme for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) was cancelled by the Government at the beginning of 2022.

Approved BEVs with a list price of less than €14,000 will not receive a grant and there is a cap of €60,000 on the purchase price of all vehicles, according to Mr Spratt.

Last year, more than €5.5m was given in grants for buyers for PHEVs manufactured by Kia, alone. A further €2.5m was spent on grants for purchasers of the BMW X5 plug-in hybrid.

Kia and VW are by far the most popular brands in terms of grants issued in 2021, with Toyota in last place with €17,600 issued in grants for BEVs and PHEVs last year.

In his letter, Mr Spratt outlined a number of measures in place to boost EV take-up in Ireland.

He said charging a vehicle at home is a priority as “we look to moving towards more energy-efficient and sustainable ways to charge”. 

A grant of up to €600 is available for those seeking to install a home charger, which can cost in excess of €1,000.

Expansion of charging network

Mr Spratt said the Government was committed to supporting the significant expansion and modernisation of the EV charging network over the coming years. 

To this end, an Office of Low Emission Vehicles is being established within the department to “lead on this important work”, he said.

The Department of Transport is also working on a new scheme to support the installation of destination charge points in locations such as hotels, visitor centres and parks.

Work is also ongoing to expand the home-charger grant to include shared parking in apartment blocks and similar developments.

A draft strategy on national charging infrastructure is expected by the end of March, which will be followed by a public consultation on the matter.

Statistics published last week by the CSO showed that more than a fifth of all cars bought so far in Ireland this year are either full electric or hybrid, with EVs almost trebling in sales compared to the same period last year.

The Government aims to have more than 1m electric cards on the road by 2030 but critics say this may be an unrealistic ambition due to the lack of infrastructure and any substantial second-hand market to speak of in Ireland as of yet.