We’re charging down the road to electric motoring
With low prices and tax, cheap tolls and free charging, it’s no wonder that savvy Irish drivers are snapping up ‘EVs’
Electric car sales are more than doubling this year as rapid advances in technology ease ‘range anxiety’ fears. The latest 40kWh Nissan Leaf boasts a range of 378km. For Ireland, this crosses a critical distance level, linking most cities and almost rivalling petrol-driven cars.
It compares with 250km for its predecessor and almost doubles the range of the previous Leaf.
‘The most Leafs we’ve sold in a year to date since launch is 400 – and we’re heading for 400 by early July this year,’ said Nissan spokeswoman Jeanne McGann.
The Irish Electric Vehicle Owners Association (IEVOA) noted that ‘for the first time, sales [of all EVs] have passed 1% to reach 1.75%’.
The downside to such huge demand is waiting lists and what must be a strong temptation to raise prices.
‘There is a supply issue as it’s not just in Ireland that the demand is so high – so there are waiting lists currently and waiting lists will remain a feature through July,’ said Ms McGann.
Instead of being rewarded for embracing EVs, drivers in Europe faced price increases for Leafs since the launch.
This is in spite of a controversy dubbed ‘rapidgate’ after charge speeds for the new model were shown to be not as fast as was claimed at times. When cars heated up in summer, after several charges, charging rates slowed down.
But as one EV blogger noted on PushEVs.com: ‘The real issue here is lack of information. It’s not a huge problem that an electric car on some occasions is limited to charge at 22 kW, but the customer needs to be aware of that.’
Ms McGann also ruled out price hikes in Ireland for the new 40kW Nissan Leaf. ‘There is no increase planned for it for the 182 selling period,’ she said.
However, prices for the 40kW model already start at €26,290. This compares with €21,490 for the 24kWh version and €23,290 for the 30kWh model.
That’s a hike in price of €3,000 – which gobbles up most of the €5,000 EV Government grant. Ms McGann denies that there is any ‘grant gobbling’.
‘With the previous 30kW Leaf, in Ireland we took the decision to absorb any price increases and did not pass them onto the consumer because we were in sales-building mode,’ she said.
‘Other countries such as the UK had several price increases on the 30kWh. She said the entry-level Leaf is cheaper here than in Britain. ‘The initial pricing in the UK was a special launch positioning which we understand has now finished. Our pricing position has not changed since launch.’
She claimed that developing new EV technology is an ‘expensive business’ and the volume of EVs sold doesn’t yet make it worthwhile.
EV enthusiast Jan-Bart Spang, said: ‘I don’t think it’s fair to single out Nissan [for increasing prices].’
Nissan has helped pioneer pure-EV technology with the biggest selling EV in the world (the Leaf) while most other big carmakers either lied about emissions or hedged their bets with less-clean hybrids. Most other pure-EV makers also have dearer cars and often launch new models at higher prices too.
EVs already qualify for cheap tolls, a €120 annual tax rate, free charging and subsidised chargers. From this year they enjoy exemption from Benefit In Kind tax on company cars, while sole traders and firms can write off the cost in just one year.
The same perks do not apply to hybrid cars, which are less clean. While in electric mode, they are emission-free, but their petroldriven engines pollute more than
usual while stopping and starting.
‘As far as incentives [for EVs] go, I personally (not as an official IEVOA comment) don’t think any more needs to be done from a grant perspective,’ said Mr Spang, who is an IEVOA member.
He would like to see more charging points, more competition among electricity suppliers, and more workplace charging. He would also like to see free parking (while charging), free tolls, more excise duty on diesel and ‘maybe even low emission zones in large urban areas like Dublin’. AA spokesman Conor Faughnan wouldn’t criticise Nissan for charging a higher price on its new model.
‘The AA is encouraging government to keep faith with them and to look for ways to do more,’ he said.
The AA has done its bit to reduce range anxiety with a ‘specialist van for electric cars that can give you a fastcharge in 20 minutes at the side of the road,’ he said. The next biggest problem with electric cars is depreciation. As much-improved models evolve quickly, older ones appear obsolete.
However, once a critical range level is reached, newer models shouldn’t outclass their predecessors so much.
Savvy buyers could wait until the 60kWh Leaf arrives next year. Then they could either get a model with an even better range – or snap up its predecessor, either second hand or new, when special discounts and incentives might apply. However, the way sales are going, Nissan won’t be long shifting all its 40kWh models.
Another option for bargainpickers is to import an almostnew second hand EV from Britain. The IEVOA notes a 74% increase in second-hand imports from the UK, which are ‘very good value’, according to Mr Spang.
Vehicle Registration Tax – a hefty charge on used imports – does not apply on EV models costing under €35,000 originally.
Increased demand for secondhand EVs has even seen prices increase recently, although that was from a low base due to previously rapid depreciation on EVs.