Are fuel prices pushing you towards an EV?

MightyMunster · 14-04-2026 11:27AM

There are hundreds of fast chargers in construction at the moment, Tesla alone has Donegal, Sligo, Mallow, Limerick, Longford and Beehive M11 finished/nearly finished in last few weeks.

Irish EV owners have an up to date tracker below for updates

https://www.irishevassociation.ie/infrastructure-updates

ted1 · 14-04-2026 01:26PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124393839#Comment_124393839

and service station had no fuel this week or last week.

cost of ownership was always easy. To look at. Prices drops didn’t change that

I went from Dublin to Malin head on Friday and back on Saturday.

No issue with charging. Plenty of spare ones when I charged

Red Silurian · 14-04-2026 04:08PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124393839#Comment_124393839

You can't remember where you were? That's a reassuring level of confidence you're giving us in your story right there.

There are so many charging stations nowadays with multiple chargers each that your story never really happens

Exiled Rebel · 14-04-2026 05:34PM

i purchased a 4 year old ioniq 5 a month ago, not becuase of the iran war but because i had always intended making the switch in the spring.

i was spending €500/month on petrol, that's down to €180 now. With the rising price of petrol the same volume of petrol in litres today would have cost me €550.

the car only needs a service every 30k kilometres versus 15k with the Ateca, tax is €120 versus €200.

in addition its a lovely car to drive. i love ipedal.

MojoMaker · 14-04-2026 06:14PM

Absolutely. The attraction of electric driving goes far beyond mere savings.

dodzy · 15-04-2026 06:32AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124395060#Comment_124395060

if you were in a position to be charging at home on a decent night rate, that €180 would be far less.

15-04-2026 09:22AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058437035/are-fuel-prices-pushing-you-towards-an-ev

driving a diesel, tax is high, very comfortable on long journeys, fuel cost high, last fill up of cost 232.9 c / L. No the high price of fuel would not make me think of switching to an EV, as currently there is no EV that has the capabilities of my current car.

Red Silurian · 15-04-2026 09:46AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396591#Comment_124396591

currently there is no EV that has the capabilities of my current car

Do please tell us what an EV can't do that your current car can do

PGE1970 · 15-04-2026 09:49AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396591#Comment_124396591

What are the capabilities of your current car that you think are missing from a EV?

I only ask because I bought a Tesla M3 Highland two years ago having been in several BMW diesels, Golf GTIs before that and I'll never go back to a petrol or diesel.

Red Silurian · 15-04-2026 09:52AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396420#Comment_124396420

I'd say he already is, €550 a month on petrol at €1.90 is 290L which at a 3:1 ratio is the equivalent of 870kWh/month - meaning at €180 he's paying about 20c/kWh.

Penn · 15-04-2026 10:02AM

I wouldn't necessarily say it's just the fuel prices as I'd been considering it anyway, but it's definitely making it a more attractive option.

Depending on how fuel prices continue to go, I'll likely be waiting until 2028 before pulling the trigger, but if fuel prices get a lot worse I'll maybe take out a loan and go a year earlier.

I'd also want to do a bit more research into the 'stated range' to 'actual likely range' ratio, as I'm guessing the stated range tends to be calculated under optimal conditions, using as few of the extras/features as possible, staying at certain speeds etc, whereas the actual range you'd get for driving it like a petrol/diesel is probably a certain percentage less. I rarely do huge mileage in any one go so it would rarely be an issue, but I'd need to be more educated on that before proceeding.

Bass Reeves · 15-04-2026 10:05AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124391795#Comment_124391795

Phev's are a waste of time. Expensive compated to similar petrol or EV's second hand and higher service and maintenance costs than both

September1 · 15-04-2026 10:08AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124391261#Comment_124391261

It is difficult to predict but unlike 2022 this time there is no massive spike in money to paid to electricity generators, as Ireland is moving towards more renewable energy. If many people would switch to EVs it could lower prices in long run due to EVs being able to use electricity during lower demand times.

Bass Reeves · 15-04-2026 10:22AM

Heading for my mid 60's spiuse is just 60. We changed the better halfs to an EV a few weeks ago. Doubt if we will be going back. Never considered phev, I never saw the advantage of it. No solar charger installed 515km rated range suspect its about 400+/- 20-30km depending on weather, night etc.

Sole trader so structure of EV depreciation helped make the devision. Its costs approx 5 euro from mid 20s% to high 70's% capacity ( about a 6 hour charge about 250km range according to my calculation.

The biggest change in thinking is previously we used fill the car completely and drive until empty. Car will be doing 17-18k in kilometers a year. Looking ar EVs a substantial amount sitting in forecourts, its a good time to jump. Ignore listed price and bid a bit lower. esoecially if buying straight

15-04-2026 10:41AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396649#Comment_124396649

Towing Capacity up to 3.5T, high ground clearance, 700mm wading depth and low ratio gearbox with diff locks for off road driving. the ability to carry extra fuel for driving in remote areas.

do please tell us what EV could match these features?

15-04-2026 10:42AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396655#Comment_124396655

Towing Capacity up to 3.5T, high ground clearance, 700mm wading depth and low ratio gearbox with diff locks for off road driving. the ability to carry extra fuel for driving in remote areas.

evftw · 15-04-2026 10:49AM

Depending on the portion of towing and wading vs. say town and motorway work, probably worth considering an EV as the second car.

But there are always edge cases where an EV just won't do.

josip · 15-04-2026 10:53AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396784#Comment_124396784

Would that be more a 'vehicle' than a 'car' ?

15-04-2026 11:00AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396813#Comment_124396813

you can call it what you want.

Gadge · 15-04-2026 11:06AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058437035/are-fuel-prices-pushing-you-towards-an-ev

My daily commute is 152Km and it's costing me over e500 per month on diesel alone. We got a decent solar & battery setup recently so I can take advantage of the good night rates plus I work shift so can charge the car with any excess solar generation above 5Kw during the day, putting all that together and an EV makes sense.

MightyMunster · 15-04-2026 11:22AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396784#Comment_124396784

What country is this for? Are there remote areas in Ireland that would require you to carry extra fuel?

bored65 · 15-04-2026 11:47AM

Shocked picachu faces all around when electricity prices keep rising due to green subsidies and carbon taxes and reliance on imported gas and night rate goes away

FazyLucker · 15-04-2026 11:50AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396854#Comment_124396854

How much did the battery / solar setup cost you in total?

I don't have off-street parking but I have been telling my brother this one is a no-brainer.

Gadge · 15-04-2026 12:07PM

21 panel, 9.6KWh Sigen system with 2x10KWh batteries plus auto changeover switch. Approx €15k. Even without the panels, a family could save a fortune just by filling up batteries at the night time rate and working off those for the day.

User1998 · 15-04-2026 12:09PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396786#Comment_124396786

Do you live in Australia or something?

PGE1970 · 15-04-2026 12:12PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396786#Comment_124396786

That's fair enough. i have a work colleague who pulls a horsebox and would love an EV but can't due to the points that you've raised.

PGE1970 · 15-04-2026 12:17PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396997#Comment_124396997

We have solar but actually make more by selling back to the grid in the brighter months and charging the cars, using the washing machine etc from 2am to 5am on the cheap rate.

Our nightime rate is 9c per kw so I'm "filling" the Tesla for less than 6euro.

I drive 20k kms per year and have probably used public charging about three times per year.

MojoMaker · 15-04-2026 12:25PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396958#Comment_124396958

For sure it will.

But on the other hand, the kw/h price would want to be heading past Eur1.20 to make it more expensive to fuel that sruthair's Massey Ferguson, maybe even higher if you benchmark against vegetable oil.

That's not going to happen anytime soon.

Exiled Rebel · 15-04-2026 12:45PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124396420#Comment_124396420

I'm doing 1000km per week. The short EV windows on offer from energia and pinergy are not sufficient for my needs. Three nights a week I need 7 hours of night rate charging + a couple of hours day rate. The car leaves the driveway at 5:45am.

Back in late February Energypal suggested Electric Ireland had the best tariff which I jumped on. 13.81 cents night rate (8.11 cents 2-4am). No matter which way I diced it the Electric Ireland tariff was the best option at the time.

I estimate €180 to be at the upper end of the scale. I've only the car a month but the first few weeks are close to what I had forecasted.

bored65 · 15-04-2026 12:49PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124397046#Comment_124397046

I remember when our system pushed everyone towards diesel “because it’s cleaner”

That turned out to be a load of manure as we found out

No lessons have been learned from that episode, imho going against the flow of sheep and their “common sense” like for example not buying houses during a bubble twenty years back, or buying eircom shares before that is a great position to take in this country

Are fuel prices pushing you towards an EV?

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