Limerick drivers get charged up in a record month for EV sales
THE SALE of electric vehicles (EV) continues to rise across Limerick.
The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) released new figures containing the percentage differences between 2022 and 2023, and Limerick was found to have boosted their numbers over the past 12 months.
January 2022 saw 890 EVs being sold in the Treaty County, and just a year later, 980 were sold this January 2023, leaving a 10.11% boost in sales, breaking SIMI records.
While this is obviously becoming a more and more popular mode of transport, there are still concerns across mainstream media regarding the price of charging point installations for average car owners.
Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General did his best to alleviate these stresses by saying: "We are still in the early stages of the EV project and the recent announcement of increased funding by the State for the national charging infrastructure will help allay anxiety concerns and encourage more motorists to look at an EV”.
However, he added: "This increased investment must not be at the expense of purchase supports, which are essential in encouraging the behavioural change required to convince more consumers to go electric".
Last year, the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, announced a suite of grants and initiatives to make it easier for people and businesses to make the switch to electric vehicles.
As a result, a new grant, The Electric Vehicle Home Charger Grant, was set up as a government funded support scheme assisting residents and homeowners to install an electric vehicle charge point on their property.
According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, the scheme provides a grant up to the value of €600 towards the purchase and installation of a home charger unit to any homeowner, whether they have an electric vehicle or not.
From a wider perspective, across Ireland, new car registrations for the month of January were up 9.4% (27,364) when compared to January 2022 (25,014).
Over a year long period, new EV sales were up 36.5% (3,682 against 2,697) across the country.