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David Savage of Geotab said that the Government urgently needs to switch gears on its EV strategy ‘into reverse’ and restore grants to their previous levels.
The sale of electric vehicles (EVs) in Ireland fell year-on-year for the fourth time in seven months in March as some in the industry worry the Government is falling behind in its plans to electrify the national fleet to meet climate goals.
According to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), a little more than 2,000 new EVs were registered last month, which is 41.1pc lower than March 2023. Overall, there has been a 14.3pc decrease in EV registrations this year (7,971) compared to the same period last year.
Brian Cooke, director general of SIMI, said that while the new car market started strongly in the first two months of the year, March proved to be “much more difficult”.
“Sales across all fuel types were behind last year, with the EV segment seeing a notable decline. This highlights the ongoing challenge of transitioning to electrification, as we move into the mainstream car market. The electrification of the fleet requires increased collaboration between all stakeholders to bridge this current chasm in the market,” he said.
“For the industry, this means investment and delivery of EV technology. For Government, this means increased support in terms of extension of current incentives, including purchase grants and benefit-in-kind relief for companies, and working with private enterprise to upgrade the national charging infrastructure, to boost consumer confidence in making the switch to electric vehicles.”
Based on engine type, more than a third of new cars ran on petrol, while around 23pc were diesel. Hybrid cars that switch between petrol and electric accounted for more than 21pc of new cars while EVs trailed at 12.7pc and plug-in electric hybrids at nearly 8pc.
David Savage, vice-president of Geotab Ireland and UK, said that this continuous fall in the sale of EVs should be a “serious cause for alarm” for the Government seeing that the electrification of the national fleet has been its “biggest policy lever” within the National Climate Plan.
“Not only is there no hope of the Government hitting its target of having 945,000 electric vehicles on Irish roads by 2030, its 2025 ambition of 195,000 EVs is essentially reliant on fudging the numbers by including vehicle types other than battery electric vehicles – the only true zero-emission vehicles on the roads,” Savage said.
He added that there is an “urgent need” for the Government to switch gears on its EV strategy “into reverse” and restore grants to their previous levels as well as introduce other incentives to jumpstart the market.
“We should be looking at a range of measures like a scrappage scheme for older, high-polluting vehicles; enabling free tolls for specific EV owners and tailored subsidies for lower-income households as zero-emission vehicles are proving to be far too expensive in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis.”
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