The number of new electric vehicles sold in Ireland is continuing to slide, with a drop of 41 per cent recorded in April compared to the same month last year.
New figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that 1,091 new electric cars were registered in Ireland last month, a 41 per cent drop on April 2023, when 1,863 new EV car registrations were recorded.
It is the fifth consecutive month where sales of EVs have fallen. The sale of electric vehicles (EVs) in Ireland fell year-on-year for the fourth time in seven months in March as some in the industry worry the Government is falling behind in its plans to electrify the national fleet to meet climate goals.
New car registrations for April were down 3.6% to 8,591 — compared to 8,912 registered last April, with 1,091 of these being electric vehicles.
So far in 2024, just 9,028 new electric cars have been registered, representing a sharp decrease of 19.1 per cent compared to the same period last year – which saw 11,160new electric cars registered.
The figures coincide with a plateau in European car sales across Europe. A total of 134,397 new electric cars were registered across Europe in March, which is a 11.3 per cent drop compared to a year beforehand, according to data published by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
While EU sales are up 3.8 per cent across the board, that still contrasts sharply to the annual growth of 43.3 per cent seen in the same time period a year ago.
Figures from the start of this year revealed that just six per cent of State-owned vehicles were electric, Some 769 state-owned vehicles on the road, out of a total of 12,728, were electric. The low percentage comes despite government plans to have one million electric vehicles on Irish roads by 2030.
Under the Climate Action Plan, Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland has a target to have 30 per cent of Ireland’s private car fleet switched to electric by 2030 – which would mean the State would need to see some 41,000 electric vehicles sold in 2040 to be on track of meeting the objective.
The figures were released by Junior Transport Minister Jack Chambers in response to a parliamentary question from Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore. Some 552 vehicles were fully electric (four per cent) while 142 were petrol/hybrids. Another 46 of the vehicles were petrol/plug-in hybrids, while 29 were diesel/electric hybrids.
Brian Cooke, director of SIMI, said the slowdown in new EV car sales was reflective of a trend being seen across other EU markets.
“With the supply of new EVs no longer an issue, and with an increasing number of brands and models present in the EV segment, the drop in EV sales is demand-driven,” Mr Cooke said.
“In Ireland, private consumers have been the key drivers of the EV market, and these buyers need greater re-assurances to be convinced to make the change.
“This means rapid investment by the Government in a reliable, convenient, and affordable electric charging infrastructure, while at the same time extending current incentives such as the purchase grant.
“For businesses and their employees, extension of the Benefit-In Kind (Bik) relief and thresholds at current levels beyond 2024 will create greater confidence that an EV is the right choice for their companies.”
Last month, Vice President of Geotab UK and Ireland, David Savage, called on the government to restore grants to previous levels for those buying electric vehicles.
“Not only is there no hope of the Government hitting its target of having 945,000 electric vehicles on Irish roads by 2030, its 2025 ambition of 195,000 EVs is essentially reliant on fudging the numbers by including vehicle types other than battery electric vehicles – the only true zero-emission vehicles on the roads,” Savage told the publication Silicon Republic.