The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has advised that Ireland needs to create 100,000 fast-charging points over the next eight years to keep a million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. The challenge being that we currently only have 1,900 public chargers located at 800 sites. The society’s report therefore highlights the ‘huge investment’ needed in the charging infrastructure.
The one-million EV target is a key environmental government policy. Meeting it will be extremely difficult unless there are also subsidies, incentives and supports to remove the oldest, most polluting cars from the road, the report suggests.
Another area regarded as vital to help attain the one-million EV mark is the creation of a second-hand electric vehicle fleet.
SIMI director general Brian Cooke also commented that: “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. We need to support all motorists to trade up to newer, less polluting, cars.”
Economist Jim Power who co-authored the report said that, “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.”
The communique asserts that to achieve the required investment in public charging infrastructure, a broad approach is required. This should include policies on charging at home, as well as “diversifying the distribution of fast charge points” across the country to ensure installations support “a complete and robust network”.
LSL News.