€5,000 incentive to switch to electric vehicles.
The Government has announced that all motorists who buy electric cars will be given a grant of up to €5,000.
The subsidy and an exemption from paying vehicle registration tax (VRT) are aimed at making electric cars more competitive in comparison to petrol or diesel equivalents.
Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan, who made the announcement on April 12, said the grant would be another incentive with an overall goal of having 10 per cent of all vehicles running on electricity by 2020.
The €5,000 grant for battery-powered electric vehicles (BEV) will apply to all cars priced above €20,000. Cash grants of between €2,000 and €4,500 will be available for BEVs costing under €20,000. The incentives will be available for two years.
A further grant of €2,500 will be available for hybrid vehicles costing over €18,000.
Minister Ryan made the announcement at the recent signing of an agreement between Renault-Nissan, the ESB and the Government.
Nissan and Renault have agreed to supply electric vehicles to the market in return for the ESB and the Government supplying the charging infrastructure to make them viable.
Prototypes of the Nissan Leaf and Renault Fluence were showcased during the launch of the agreement.
According to Minister Ryan the Fluence and Leaf demonstrate that motorists will be buying "absolutely standard" vehicles, which he said was critical to the success of electric cars.