Electric vehicle sales to get push from new information hub

An information hub will be launched this week in an effort to boost sales of electric vehicles, which remain sluggish in Ireland compared with many EU countries’.

Minister for Climate Action Denis Naughten will launch the hub on Wednesday as part of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland's new Driving Electric campaign.

Although the number of electric vehicles, or EVs, sold in Ireland rose to 622 in 2017, from 392 in 2016, that made up only 0.47 per cent of the overall market – and there is concern that the upward trend might not be maintained. The number of EVs sold in January this year – traditionally one of the strongest sales months – fell by almost 40 per cent compared with last year, with only 104 sold, or 0.28 per cent of the market, according to the Irish EV Owner's Association.

The Government’s climate-change-mitigation plan aims to increase the number of EVs on Irish roads to 500,000 by 2030. The SEAI and department believe sales will jump over the next few years, as more manufacturers introduce mass-market models.

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The new information hub, which will be supported by a nationwide campaign, will try to correct what the authority has said are “many misconceptions” about electric vehicles. “The information hub will provide unbiased information to anyone considering making the switch to an EV,” it said.

Charging points

Opposition parties have criticised what they described as insufficient policies. Timmy Dooley of Fianna Fáil said the Government could have addressed a number of factors that are damping down sales. He cited a lack of fast-charging points and said there should be one in each garage in the country.

He also said more generous business-mileage expenses should be offered for EVs, to encourage uptake.

Brian Stanley of Féin also said that more charging points were needed outside Dublin, to deal with “range anxiety”, and he claimed there was little benefit in switching to electric cars when 75 per cent of our electricity was being produced by fossil fuels.