2024 Irish EV Sales

I thought the idea was to get as many people as possible into EVs for environmental reasons no?
Provide better longer warranties on used EVs and more people will be interested which keeps used EV prices higher, insulating new EV buyers from massive depreciation losses.

It is a problem if you need the range though

Non-EV sales in 2024 are +11%, while pure EV sales are down 22% for Jan-May, but down 40% in each of Mar/Apr/May, on lower volumes obviously

It was a similar pattern last year - July 2023 was the highest sales month of the year for EVs, so annual growth will be hard this year even if there’s a lot of delayed deliveries

yeah just as things might look to be settling down after the market adjusted from over demand under supply throughout COVID, we now have another aspect that may drive some prices back up again - great!

Maybe so but on the other hand, the consumer doesn’t want over inflated prices for cars either. Two wrongs don’t make a right here- are manufacturers willing to reduce profits? Are governments. especially Irish government, willing to reduce revenue on cars?
And what about the parts that are made in China for other car manufacturers? Might China impose an exit tax on those parts leaving China?
All that this is going to do is add to a trade war - the politicians will talk big but at the end of the day the consumer will suffer.

The range / charging mantra is grist to the mill for the media and clicks yet I think that could be flipped on its head although the Chinese tariffs have probably killed the angle.

We all know the complaining that range isn't enough - thats fine and if dropping 40k+ on a new car I can see why people see it as an issue even if I don't.

However if you could get the BYD Seagul thingy with its claimed 300kms range and Chineses USD10k price tag here and OTR in Ireland for 12-15k new then I think you would see a huge uptake. A real world range of 200kms for a cheap small car would tick most of the boxes for most people as a second run around car. For elderly people in the city and the country it would be ideal as lets face it the cars generally run around to shops and friends etc. Couple that with a proper insurance framework that didn't make insuring two cars a nightmare people could even keep their old ICE for their circuit of Ireland holiday trip or whatever.

I know that wouldn't suit everyone but it could suit those with driveways and stand alone houses. At the end of the day if the government see an increase in EV use as a critical part of their plans then who cares how you get there once you get there.

I'd even venture further and suggest that a 100/100 EV small car (AKA Fiesta Mk1 size) for sub 10k could be a game changer. BTW 100/100 would be 100kms at 100kph in wind and rain. Anyone my age will know that the Fiesta everywhere in rural Ireland in the late 70's and 80's. Cheap, ecconomical, reliable private transport.

I am not convinced about grants etc as they always seem to impact the market at some point in an unintended way. If the product is good enough and price point matches them people will see the value propoistion and change if it suits for financial reasons.

But at least we can reply with "What do you expect for the price??"

Totally agree. I just checked the new cars tab on carzone and selected lowest to highest. Looks like (based on my 30 seconds research) that the Dacia Sandero Hatchback is the cheapest entry car at €16,190.00

The point I was poorly making above was that a low cost EV based on USD10k in China would be a very attractive option here at 12.5-15k and would have the potential to gather interest. I wasn't saying people should buy one but the point I was hoping to make was that at a price point like that and the low running costs it might be a lot more attractive as an EV entry point. I think a 100km/100kph car at sub 10k would be an even better proposition although I don't see it happening anytime soon.

Also the suggestion that EV sales are down because there aren't small size hatchbacks aren't for sale is a load of nonsense. People need to learn to accept that EVs aren't the silver billet that everyone thought they would be. They are perfect in certain circumstances, not all circumstances like ICE is

Your right, that makes sense. An EV is much better than an ICE in your situation