THE GOVERNMENT has signed a second memorandum with a major motor manufacturer to promote the development of the electric vehicle industry in Ireland.
Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan and senior executives of Mitsubishi Motors yesterday signed the agreement to trial its all-electric i-MiEV model in Ireland.
The alliance, signed at Trinity College Dublin, is the second agreement of this kind. It follows a similar memorandum signed by the Government and ESB with the Renault-Nissan consortium.
The ESB, which is also a party to the memo, announced it is to begin the first e-car trial programme for Ireland, in conjunction with TCD.
A fleet of i-MiEVs will be used throughout Ireland to support and test the new charging-point infrastructure. Over the next two years, the ESB will install 1,500 roadside and kerbside charging points countrywide. It will also facilitate the installation of some 2,000 charging points in homes.
It is envisaged the bulk of charging will be done overnight, using reduced night-time electricity rates. So far, there has been a commitment to instal 30 fast-charging units.
Under the agreement the Mitsubishi electric vehicles (EVs) will be available to a wide range of users – residential and corporate – to test the new charging network.
“It’s another important milestone in the electrification of the Irish motoring fleet,” said Mr Ryan. Yesterday’s agreement would strengthen Ireland’s international position as a first-mover and ideal test-bed for the new technology.
ESB chief executive Pádraig McManus said the ESB was pressing ahead with its charging point programme. “As a major force in the global market, Mitsubishi’s endorsement of Ireland as an environment for EVs is extremely encouraging.”
The president and chief executive of Mitsubish Motors Europe, Akinori Nakanishi, said: The i-MiEV is one of the first consumer electric vehicles to be launched in Europe and is set to revolutionise the way we think about cars.
“We see Ireland as a very important market for EVs and are delighted to announce this memorandum.”
The long-term aim of the Government is to have 10 per cent of the car fleet made up of EVs by 2020.
Mr McManus said the number of public chargepoints would keep pace with demand. However, critics have said Ireland is lagging behind some other EU countries, which have already installed a much higher ratio of chargepoints.