EV sales lose spark as slashed subsidies blamed for downturn

A DROP in sales of electric cars has prompted a call for subsidies to be reintroduced, if Ireland is to have a ‘snowball’s chance in hell’ of hitting its climate target.

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) said new car registrations for February were up 25% (16,455) when compared to the same month last year (13,122).

However, in February just 1,866 new electric vehicles (EVs) were registered, which was 15.5% lower than the 2,207 registrations in February 2023.

In the new car market, petrol cars continue to lead the way at 33%, followed by diesel at 24%, with petrol-electric hybrid at 22%, electric at 12% and the remainder being plug-in electric hybrid.

David Savage, vice president of Geotab, Ireland & UK, a vehicle tracking service, said: ‘February’s year-on-year decline in electric vehicle sales is an alarming moment and highlights the damage that reducing EV subsidies has done to the market, given that overall vehicle sales are up 25%.

‘The Government needs to urgently intervene if there is any chance for its target of having 945,000 electric vehicles on Irish roads by 2030 to be achieved.’

He said the Government had been informed that EV sales in Denmark fell after financial supports were withdrawn.

‘Now is the time to reverse course, not only returning subsidies to their previous level, but going above and beyond that by putting supports in place to boost EVs’ popularity,’ he said.

He suggested that initiatives could include a scrappage scheme for older, high-polluting vehicles, enabling free tolls for specific EV owners and tailored subsidies for lower-income households.

Mr Savage said the decision to slash the maximum grant available to EV buyers by €1,500 last July, while ending reduced toll fares for EVs at the end of last year, ‘could prove to be crucial mistake in terms of timing’.

Recent research by the European Federation for Transport and Environment has highlighted that European car manufacturers are prioritising the sale of large SUV and premium model electric vehicles, with the average price of a battery electric car increasing by 39% since 2015.

‘When we need to see sales of approximately 12,000 EVs a month in Ireland to have a snowball’s chance in hell of hitting the Government’s 2030 target, we have to face the reality that only 42,000 new battery EVs priced below €25,000 will be produced for all of Europe in 2024,’ he said.

Brian Cooke, SIMI director general, said: ‘To speed up the move to EVs in the wider motoring public, the industry and Government must keep working together. For the industry, this means the rolling out of more EV models. For Government, it means extending incentives and investing in the national charging infrastructure.’