Experts call for drastic action from Government to energise electric car sales

The latest figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that EV sales fell almost 20% in September compared to the same period last year.

Radical intervention is needed to boost "glacial" electric vehicle (EV) sales if the Government is to meet its own 2030 target of 945,000 on the road, leading experts in the field have insisted.

The latest figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that EV sales fell almost 20% in September compared to the same period last year, prompting calls from experts for the Government to introduce measures in the Budget to reignite previous momentum.

Overall, some 5,669 new cars were registered in September, a drop of more than 10% compared to the 6,318 sold in September 2022. However, EV registrations fell 19.34% to just 1,493 for the same period.

The cutting of the grant from the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) towards a new EV from €5,000 to €3,500 in July is just one of the factors at play, EV experts said, with the barriers to the second-hand market also having an effect.

The lack of incentives for light commercial vehicles (LCV) is also proving significant, they added.

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB

Editor of IrishEVs.com, Tom Spencer, said: "As feared, the Government's cuts to EV grants have reduced adoption. The knock-on effect is that 74% of all new cars registered in Ireland in September 2023 were entirely reliant on fossil fuels to operate. 

This is a disaster for climate action, air pollution, and public health.

"The Government must listen to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its repeated warnings that we will miss our climate action targets without drastic action. It is time for the Government to stop dragging its feet and putting its faith in trickle-down economics that have no basis in reality. 

"It must open up Ireland to affordable, second-hand EV imports from the UK that aren't penalised by Vat and import duties."

Until Brexit was finalised, thousands of motorists in Ireland sought out cars from the UK in search of savings. 

The second-hand market meant Irish motorists could buy high-end brands such as BMW, Audi, Mercedes, and Volvo, but also dozens of other models, and save thousands of euro in the process, even when taking vehicle registration tax (VRT) and Vat into consideration when registering in Ireland.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

Car fleet tech management firm Geotab claimed that the slow pace of EV adoption is down to a lack of incentives for companies as well as consumers.

Geotab vice president for Ireland and the UK, David Savage, said: "Without any intervention, there will be no change to the glacial rate of EV adoption that we are seeing in the SIMI data.

"The Department of Transport’s own projections estimate that there will be only 416,000 EVs on Irish roads by 2030, less than half of the Government’s ambition of having 945,000 EVs at that stage.

"We believe that the Government needs to look at a combination of interventions in Budget 2024 in order to incentivise higher EV sales, while also targeting specific segments in the market like LCVs that are not making the same level of transition as the general public."