The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has released a new report which suggests that the country needs at least 100,000 electric car charging points and that Government financial assistance will be needed to ensure that everyone can afford to make the EV changeover.
'A huge challenge'
The report, compiled by Arup and economist Jim Power, suggests that: "Unless the Government incentivises and supports dealing with the oldest polluting cars, while exponentially increasing the charging infrastructure nationwide [putting] a million electric vehicles (EVs) on the road by 2030 will be a huge challenge."
SIMI's analysis suggests that, in spite of the recent popularity of electric and hybrid cars, almost a third of all vehicles on Irish roads conform to Euro4 emissions regulations, which makes them spectacularly 'dirty' compared to more modern vehicles. Analysis within the report claims that the removal of all these cars and replacing them with EVs would reduce carbon emissions by 875,000 tonnes which is the equivalent of planting over 1.1 billion trees which would "almost cover the entirety of Co Clare."
Quite apart from how that might discommode the people of Clare, it seems that SIMI is opening a strategy of trying to get the Government to cough up for a new scrappage scheme, to encourage buyers to swap out of their older, more polluting cars in favour of a new electric vehicle.
Indeed, Brian Cooke - SIMI's director-general - says: "We need to support all motorists to trade up to newer less polluting cars. This has two clear benefits; it can deliver an immediate reduction in overall emissions, and it can shorten the journey time for all owners into an electric vehicle. In this context, electrifying specific fleet sectors can help in the creation of an affordable strong used EV market, removing the barriers to entry for many, and accelerate the electrification of the Irish car market."
Tax strategy group
However, it seems unlikely that the current Government will support any such scheme, and given that the Tax Strategy Group - an influential committee within the Department of Finance - has previously scotched claims that lower taxes and faster fleet replacement bring with them environmental benefits. Indeed, the prevailing wisdom in officialdom now seems to be that VRT has been under-charged in recent years, and so we can all expect to see more expensive new cars in upcoming Budgets.
Nonetheless, SIMI's points are well made, especially those around the charging network. Nothing will slow the uptake of EVs more than constant queues at charging points, and SIMI says that the charging network as it stands "falls far short" of what's needed even now, let alone when there are close to a million EVs on the road.
Currently, according to SIMI's figures, there are just 1,900 charging points at 800 sites across the country. While new chargers are being rolled out, that still leaves us dramatically short of the 4,700 chargers which are supposedly needed for the existing EV vehicle fleet of 47,000 cars. By 2030, SIMI says that the national charging network will have to expand to 100,000 connectors, most of those fast chargers of 50kW power and above.
Restricted supply
In the meantime, the growth of sales of EVs will be stymied by the lack of supply in the face of the continuing microchip crisis. We already know of customers who've had their 2022 orders cancelled outright, and if that trend continues then sales will slow to a trickle.
Economist Jim Power who co-authored SIMI's report said "To sell 945,000 electric and low emitting vehicles by 2030, in line with Government policy is an extremely ambitious target. Ireland is a relatively small right-hand-drive economy and has a slower and smaller supply chain with around 120,000 new car sales per annum (pre-Covid-19) and an average car fleet age of nine years in 2021. The Industry faces numerous challenges global supply chain issues, used car supply scarcity, Brexit disruptions, rising motoring costs. For Ireland to achieve close to the 2030 target both economic and financial fundamentals need to be present. Government support is essential in creating this business environment, through EV grant subsidies, incentives and supporting infrastructure investment which will encourage consumers to take action and expedite sales."