Electric cars.

Well I bought my first electric car a few weeks ago and have to say I am very happy with it. I am saving about 40%+ a month between fuel and repayments so very happy. Here in Ireland they started to reduce the subsidies for EVs recently, they said they were going to invest the money saved into charging infrastructure rather than new cars which makes sense to me. Call me cynical but low and behold, car companies have started to reduce the prices to make up for the subsidy cuts, so rather than the tax payer paying for these savings it’s the car companies.

 

Glad you like your new car. What are the current subsidies in Ireland for EV cars? I thought it was similar to the UK where the main subsidies are for the fleet sector with these, benefit in kind, schemes.

In Ireland there has been an increase of 8% in new car registration for the first quarter of 2024 compared to 2023, but new EV registrations has decreased by 14.3% so far this quarter.

With the exception of Waterford, every other county has seen an increase in new car registrations. In contrast, Waterford is the only county that has seen an increase in EV registrations with all the other counties showing a decline in EV registrations.

So we have the Alliance for British Motorists calling for subsidies to be scrapped, then we have the likes of SMMT and other EV promoters pushing governments to extend current subsidies but also to introduce zero VAT on new EV's and at public charging points as the transition to EV's is stalling.

New Car Registrations: 16% decrease in March 2024 - Ireland's Forecourt & Convenience Retailer

 

Hence the importance of viewing statistics objectively, and questioning the motives of those who choose to selectively share and interpret statistics.

To illuminate the point in a lightheaded way...

Every human being that drank clean water between 1800 and 1850 is now dead. Therefore there is a 100% probability that if you drink clean water you will die. It is therefore better to drink beer.

The statistical part of that statement is (probably) true. The interpretation however is, shall we say, creative, yet not entirely incompatible with the statistic.

 

I wonder when EVs will cease to have no road tax to pay. It seems pretty obvious that if EV number do increase, with the same level of decrease in ICE vehicles, the shortfall will have to be made up. The natural place to hit to cover that will be EVs. EVs may cause less pollution in use, although doubts are being expressed even on that, but they still cause wear and tear on the roads and should contribute now.

 

I thought they were paying road tax from 2025?

 

There is a grant for the home charger of €300 reduced from €600, a grant of €3,500 reduced from €5,000 on a new EV and VRT relief of up to €5,000 on cars under €40,000 which then tapers off up to €50,000 as the thinking is (rightly IMO) that those who can afford a car over €50,000 don’t need any support to buy it. All this, along with dealer discounts meant my car which has a book price of about €45,000 was only about €35,000 which will take care of the depreciation everyone moans about

 

Agree, any short fall in monies collected by the treasury will be collected in another form. You make a valid point on wear and tare of the roads, cars in general, regardless of power train have got bigger, which results in heavier vehicles.

When someone is looking a buying a new or used car, the kerb weight of that vehicle is never considered. Yet haulage companies do take note of the kerb weights of trucks and trailers to maximise the payload. Truck manufacturers are probably under more pressure to build lighter trucks than the car sector, without compromising on safety. Hauliers will pay extra to have alloy wheels fitted rather steel, this can reduce the kerb weight by 300kg on a 6 axle layout HGV. In general vans LVG's and HGV's have been getting lighter in weight, yet cars in general have been going in the opposite direction as demand for larger vehicles like SUV's have increased. Then throw in a huge battery and most BEV SUV's are heavier than a petrol/diesel transit van.

There are many factors why UK roads are in such a state, weight of the vehicles is a factor.
As the government is pushing the haulage industry to go electric, they are increasing the gross weight limits to offset the lost payload by having a battery. So a transit van goes from 3.5 tons to 4.25tons, a 20% increase. For the large HGV's which have a 44 ton gross weight limit the weight increase is still being debated, I doubt it will be 20% like it is for transit vans but it will be close to 10%, this will only accelerate the poor conditions of UK roads.

 

I assume as you have quoted in Euro's, then these subsidies are for the Republic of Ireland only?

 

With my dodgy knees I found I could get in and out my little focus easier than I could my brother in law's SUV just too high really.
They have two, mainly because they have three big dogs and tow a caravan at times.
I still think that people assume they are safer for them, not so sure they are for others though.
Some of the EV ones look particularly bulky to me.