Kerry experiences dramatic fall in number of electric vehicles registered

SALES of electric vehicles in Kerry during the first quarter of the year appear to have fallen significantly from the same time period 12 months ago.

While 144 electric vehicles were registered in Kerry between January and March 2023, that number dropped to 110 for those three months this year. This represents a fall of almost 24 per cent.

It’s also behind the same time period for 2022 (117 registrations) but well ahead of the figures for 2021, when there were just 44 electric vehicles registered in Kerry in Quarter One.

This year’s fall comes in spite of a 13-per-cent rise in registrations overall in Kerry, with 1,379 vehicles registered since January 1, according to statistics released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry.

“Sales across all fuel types were behind last year, with the Electric Vehicle [EV] segment seeing a notable decline,” said SIMI Director General Brian Cooke of the overall national figures.

“This highlights the ongoing challenge of transitioning to electrification, as we move into the mainstream car market.

“The electrification of the fleet requires increased collaboration between all stakeholders to bridge this current chasm in the market.

“For the Industry, this means investment and delivery of EV technology. For Government, this means increased support in terms of extension of current incentives, including purchase grants and Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) relief for companies, and working with private enterprise to upgrade the national charging infrastructure, to boost consumer confidence in making the switch to electric vehicles.”