There is huge investment needed if Ireland is to meet their 2030 EV goals according to a report carried out by Arup and economist Jim Power on reducing light fleet carbon emissions to achieve Government targets.

The country is aiming to have just under 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, across electric cars, electric vans, low-emission HGVs and electric buses.

There are currently 1,900 fast charging points across the country but the figure needs to increase by 100,000 over the next 8 years in order to meet the demand to satisfy the electric vehicle plans.

The report also says the Government need to incentivise and support those dealing with the oldest polluting cars on the road today.

The independent report which was commissioned for The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) stated that in order to deal with this older legacy fleet, help will be required for those with the least economic capacity to make the biggest change.

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This requires more investment, not just at the top end of the market, to remain fair and equitable if Ireland is to provide all commuters with viable transport options.

Gillian Fanning SIMI President said “The Irish Motor Industry is a key partner of the Irish Government in seeking to reduce carbon emissions from motor vehicles. All stakeholders as outlined in this report have a responsibility to collaborate in delivering charging infrastructure, incentives and education so that consumers who are at the heart of this plan and critical to its success have the confidence to make the change to zero emission vehicles in greater numbers.”  

According to the report, of equal importance is the urgent need to create a second-hand electric vehicle fleet. The age profile of the national fleet has led to the continued use of older polluting vehicles with 31.1% of vehicles being Euro 4 (pre-2011) or older (700,429 cars).

Analysis within the report shows that 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. 

Brian Cooke, Director General SIMI said "With over 2.2 million cars in the national fleet, the journey towards decarbonisation includes all vehicle owners. The Government cannot rely on new Electric Vehicles alone to achieve emission targets. While the new car market will deliver large numbers of Electric Vehicles over the next decade, we must remember that the majority of motorists buy a used car, and for them, particularly those in older cars, their EV journey will be longer.

"As outlined in the Government’s own plan, we need to deal with the legacy fleet, a fleet that continues to age due to the low levels of new car sales. We need to support all motorists to trade up to newer less polluting cars."

The ambition to sell nearly a million electric vehicles by 2030 is extremely challenging. Supply disruptions wrought by Covid-19, Brexit and the global chip supply shortage, combined with potential rare mineral shortages keeping battery prices high, has further delayed the availability of electric vehicles. 

Economist Jim Power who co-authored 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 9 years (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."

Images: SIMI Report-19 (L-R) Terry Lee-Williams, ARUP, Brian Cooke, Director General SIMI, Gillian Fanning SIMI President, Jim Power Econommist / Getty