Government urged to scrap VRT and lower tolls for electric cars

The Government has been urged to consider scrapping VRT and introducing reduced motorway tolls for electric cars.

ESB’s Director of Innovation Paul Mulvaney says that while there are some supports in Ireland for users of electric vehicles, there are greater incentives in other countries such as Norway which offer free parking, free charging, no fee for doing the driving test in an electric car and no tax for electric cars.

He pointed out that in London there is no congestion charge for electric cars.

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast Business, Mr Mulvaney that while Ireland had come a long way since the electric car system was introduced in 2009, more needs to be done.

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He said that electric cars can have a net positive effect on the national grid. They can be charged at night during off peak and can then feed back into the grid at peak time.

At present there are 1,200 charging points in Ireland and the ESB also operates charging points in Northern Ireland.

“Our system is as good as anywhere in the world”, he added.

He said that diesel and petrol cars are on the way out and that all the major car manufacturers now have electric models.

Mr Mulvaney denied claims that there is still a problem with carbon emissions in how the electricity is made. “Ireland has a big mix of electric sources, 26 per cent comes from renewables, so they’re already low carbon.”

New electric cars are three times as efficient. There will not be an issue of demand on the national grid, he added. “We are a long way from any problem. This issue can be sorted with smart charging if necessary.”

More efforts should be made to encourage the use of electric cars such as zero VRT and lower tolls on the motorways, he added.