Is Ireland behind the curve with Electric Vehicles?

As reported by The Journal, a total of 117,100 new vehicles were registered in the last year, down from 125,671 (6.8%) new cars the previous year, according to figures released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (Simi) today.

There was an increase in the number of new electric cars that were registered – 3,444 in 2019 in comparison to 1,233 the previous year. However, this represents just 3% of the overall number of new cars registered.

Climate Action Minister Richard Bruton said motorists planning on buying new cars in 2020 “should reassess electric despite the more expensive price tag” as the government is expected to soon publish draft legislation banning the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.

He said the government plans to double the existing electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the new year and said that by 2025 the number of new electric vehicles on the road is expected to jump to between 12% and 14%.

The figures released by Simi show that diesel accounted for accounted for 47% of new cars registered last year, petrol was 41%, hybrid 9%, electric 3%, and plug-in hybrid 1%.

Diesel remains the most popular engine type, while hybrid, electric and plug-in hybrid gained market share in 2019.