By Alissa MacMillan
Q: I’m seeing more electric vehicles around and wondered if they are finally catching on and what, if anything, current concerns are with them?
A: Well-spotted. There has indeed been a change on the roads, this year in particular. For battery electric vehicles (BEVs), “uptake has been very good, and it’s been going up and up,” says Dr. Abhilash Chandra Singh, Research Fellow in Transportation Engineering at Trinity College Dublin. He describes the change as “a genuine structural shift, not just steady growth.”
In 2025, car sales in Ireland were up 3% from 2024, and, of those sold, BEVs were up 35% from the previous year, with growth in every county. January 2026 was a “landmark month,” Singh adds, with BEVs outselling petrol cars for the first time ever, a 48% jump from January of 2025.
By June of this year, electrified vehicle sales, including BEVs, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids, accounted for nearly two-thirds of the new car market, while pure diesel, which was 70% of sales ten years ago, has dropped to just 13%, and pure petrol to 21%. In July, 9,682 new EVs were registered, the highest ever recorded, according to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry.
“It’s not just EVs,” Singh adds. “People are looking at electrifying and upgrading their entire life, starting at home, with the lowest hanging fruit, like the home retrofit.” Schemes like the “warmer home” grants and solar panel subsidies exist, but, as with EVs, taking advantage of them still depends on “the possibility and some funds,” he says.
RURAL COMMUNITIES LAGGING BEHIND
Several factors have contributed to the EV upswing, and quite a few things still stand in the way. One element is subsidies: Prior to 2023, Ireland offered a €5,000 SEAI grant for new EVs. In July 2023, Ireland cut its grant to €3,500, a change which “acted a bit like a shock,” Singh says, “we saw an immediate drop in numbers.”
Recently, he says, a scrappage scheme – ICE2EV – offered up to €8,500 for a new EV: the existing €3,500 grant plus a new €5,000 payment for scrapping an old petrol or diesel car. It was so popular, it hit its 2,000-application cap and closed within hours of launching.
Some schemes have their downsides, many SEAI subsidies operating on a “pay and then reimburse” basis, he explains, which puts “a disproportionate impact on families that do not have the upfront money for that.”
Where EVs (and solar panels and heat pumps) are most popular also reflects this income inequality, he adds. Dublin accounted for the largest share of new electric vehicle registrations from January to June 2026, at nearly 40% (8,006 units), also reflecting the population concentration, Cork following with 2,378 units (11.8%), and Kildare with 1,312 (6.51%). Dublin’s commuter belt areas, with higher incomes and more home-ownership (and driveways), has seen EVs as the “single best-selling fuel type outright,” even as their grid capacity is the most strained. The counties that lag behind are, on average, more rural, with lower incomes, less charging infrastructure, and longer driving distances required – there, diesel remains the bestseller.
Because charging happens either at home or in a public station, matters are trickier in rural areas. People primarily charge at home, but, “more often than not, your house needs upgrading of voltage from ESB,” which may not be possible because of electrical grid capacity. Rural areas are typically served by small pole-mounted transformers that step voltage down for individual homes, this equipment often already running close to capacity, so a cluster of EVs charging at once can push it beyond its limit.
“When you buy an EV and your neighbour buys one, and both charge at same time, it will draw a lot of power in your cluster of homes,” he says. Overnight charging is cheaper and avoids daytime peak demand, but it’s also when many households charge, so can strain local transformers, EVs drawing roughly ten to fifteen times the energy of a washing machine.
As people get savvier, they are availing of across-the-board benefits of electrification, turning to things like solar panels, where extra energy goes back into the grid, offsetting the amount of energy you withdraw, or an in-home battery which stores the energy collected from the solar panels for when you need it, like for charging your car. In the long-run, the savings can be significant.
TIPPING POINT
“There are a few examples where people who bought newer homes with solar panels and EVs say their energy prices through the year have gone down by about half, they need less energy to heat, and they are generating a lot of energy,” Singh says. “There is a lot of value if you do a mix of a few of these things.” Various SEAI grants of a “more holistic nature,” accessed through a One Stop Shop provider, can also be used, where the grant is deducted up front rather than reimbursed.
According to the most recent SEAI figures, Ireland imports around 78% of the energy it uses, making it one of the most import-dependent countries in the EU. That reliance, again laid bare by the recent oil crisis, is another factor behind the EV upswing, many people thinking more about energy sovereignty.
And while many household costs are offset, there are hidden societal costs.
One concern is the weight of EVs. The Golf and Yaris are small and relatively lightweight, Singh says, with comparable electric vehicles typically 20–40% heavier, and some of the newer SUVs even more. “As heavier vehicles become more common, they are likely to increase wear on roads, requiring more maintenance.” Battery technologies are improving and lighter materials are being developed, but current battery packs remain heavy from their lithium iron phosphate (LFP) or nickel-based chemistries.
“They say EVs have no emissions, but that only refers to driving,” Singh adds. Manufacturing, in particular the battery, “produces more emissions upfront.” Ireland currently has little capacity to recycle EV batteries, so spent batteries are generally sent to specialist facilities elsewhere in Europe for recycling or treatment, with misunderstandings about battery degradation and remaining capacity continuing to affect the second-hand EV market, he says.
These and other “awareness gaps,” especially our expectations of a quick fill of the tank, our anxiety about range, and cost, are slowly easing. Over time, prices have fallen, increased competition from Chinese manufacturers such as BYD putting pressure on European carmakers.
So, while you’ve noticed a change on the road, you should be seeing even more, as we near a “tipping point” in behaviour and expectation, says Singh. “This year should be the big year for EVs in Ireland.”
