VW ID.3

We charge , excuse the autocorrect

No sign of mine, which was supposed to be built last week.

Meanwhile, I have this to worry about: https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/new-car-prices-will-jump-1-300-with-electric-vehicles-up-4-100-under-budget-proposals-1.4679851

The article

The price of the average new car will rise by €1,294 – while all-electric cars like the Volkswagen ID.3 Family will jump by about €4,100 – under proposed Budget 2021 tax changes. 

The Department of Finance’s Tax Strategy Group last week put forward changes to the Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) system that would mean the tax rate on regular cars with emissions above 100g/km rise by between 2 and 5 per cent.

It also called for a drop in the cap for tax relief on electric cars to €40,000, with the current €5,000 tapering off from €30,000. It would end tax relief on the majority of the current best-selling electric cars on the Irish market. 

According to figures seen by The Irish Times, the higher VRT rates will mean average price rises of €604 for cars with emissions between 101g/km and 105g/km, €1,141 for cars with emission of 126g/km to 130g/km, rising to €2,401 for new cars with emissions of 141g/km. The average price hikes increase significantly from there. Vehicles with emissions above 191g/km, which include several large SUVs, could have average prices rise by an estimated €8,765.

The proposals have been strongly criticised by motor industry executives who say they run counter to efforts to lower transport emissions. 

Kia Ireland chief executive Ronan Flood said the changes would only serve to deter motorists from changing to new lower emission or fully electric cars. “People will just keep their older car, which is more polluting,” said Flood. 

Society of Irish Motor Industry (Simi) director general Brian Cooke said “all this does is reduce demand for new cars and it ignores the real issue out there, which is the 900,000 cars over 10 years old on the roads”.

On the lowering of the cut-off for tax relief on electric cars Mr Cooke said “there’s a lot of what you would call family cars in the €30,000 to €40,000 space and they’re actually going to go up in VRT if the measure is brought in.”

A spokesman for VW Group Ireland said: “As the market leader in battery electric vehicles [EVs], we believe these tax proposals would have a profoundly negative effect on the long term ambitions of the Climate Action Plan and Ireland’s wider sustainability goals.

“Under the Climate Action Plan, the Government wants 936,000 electric vehicles in Ireland by 2030. Of the 2.8 million vehicles currently on our roads, around 35,000 are electric.” 

The VW spokesman said electric cars and plug-in hybrids are vital to achieving the plan’s goals and “the Government should be incentivising their uptake rather than discouraging it. For instance, the proposed changes to the VRT rebate would mean the price of the popular ID.3 Family increase by around €4,100. We need policies that accelerate the transition to cleaner mobility solutions rather than impede it.”

The Tax Strategy Group also proposes changes to the current system of Benefit in Kind (BIK) tax relief on electric vehicles. 

At present employees driving electric cars are entitled to a zero per cent BIK rate. The exemption is due to expire at the end of 2022. From then on a new system that takes account of CO2 emissions and mileage is due to begin. 

The Tax Strategy Group is proposing an extension of the zero per cent rate until 2025, though it will taper off every year. The threshold would drop from €50,000 down to €40,000 for the first year, €30,000 for the second year, €20,000 for the third year, before expiring in at end 2025. After that, a maximum rate of 19.75 per cent would apply to electric vehicles. 

The Tax Strategy Group paper states: “Ireland has a generous BIK regime when compared with other jurisdictions in Europe. Effective BIK rates are higher in the UK, for example.”

dealers can pre register cars, also VW can prioritise cars abs divert them from markets which won’t be affected by the loss of grants

This is the same lad who wrote the article below around this time last year..

There’s another thread on this topic and the government papers don’t line up with this article and it’s statement of a €4100 price increase on an id3..time will tell-

Anyway, I believe the grant benefits the supplier, we as consumers are being conned.

Anyway my zappi arrived this morning , 48 hrs from ordering, am impressed, all I need now is the car

What are peoples opinions on the lane keep assist?

I find it only works periodically and I have to turn it off on country lanes as its pinging away.

I absolutely hate it and i wish i could disable it easier. Pretty much the only thing about the car that annoys me.

i don't have travel assist so maybe that's part of the problem.

Hi all,

just took delivery of My ID 3 Life Pro, slate silver. Drove back from the dealers in Waterford, to Cork.

Ordered the car July 6 so I think I'm one of the lucky ones to have had it delivered in only 12 weeks .

Been reading the blogs the last few months on peoples opinions , have to say it is an awesome machine..

Big learning curve on the Infotainment screen but will get there in the end. All part of the fun of an EV.

Have a big smile on my face now when passing a Petrol Station.

Just for Info, had an EO Mini Pro 2 installed ..Very tidy and un-tethered just the job. Need advice on the install just PM me , glad to be of help.

Any advice on the Importing of contact's to the car..Phone connected, weConect app all good, but contact importing button not registering.

For the contacts - In the phone settings, bluetooth, VW Connected device, make sure that Contact Sharing is selected.

For some reason my phone will disable the contact sharing randomly and I have to re-select it from time to time.