Recently when announcing the sales figures for new car sales in the month of April, Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General said he welcomed Minister Darragh O’Brien’s announcement on the Regional and Local EV charging network.
I checked the Minister’s statement and it’s interesting as there is no mention of the year 2035, which the EU had intimated was the date for a full switch to electric cars. The relevant paragraph described the plan thus: “It aligns with both national and EU climate goals, helping to cut emissions and move towards a fully decarbonised transport sector by 2050.” So, we have another 25 years of diesel, petrol and hybrid, which is probably the best option.
In the first four months of the year, 11,311 new electric cars were registered, representing a 23.5% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Petrol cars retain the new car market lead at 27.68%, followed by Hybrid (Petrol Electric) at 23.66%, Diesel at 17.36%, full Electric at 15.39% and Plug-in Electric Hybrid at 14.29%.
So that’s the state of play after the first four months of the year, a time when many people give serious consideration to changing their cars.
Earlier this year, Peugeot introduced a new version of their 5008 seven-seater and it’s only available as a hybrid and full EV, no diesel version.
There aren’t many seven-seater new cars coming on the market right now, but Peugeot are very proud of their 5008. At launch in February, Des Cannon, Managing Director for Peugeot in Ireland said that the company’s objective was to have Peugeot as the mainstream leader in Europe. They are already the leaders in the small electric car market.
The 3008 is Peugeot’s flagship model, with over 13,000 Irish customers to-date, but the company are very optimistic about the 5008 which should be very attractive for families who need that extra bit of space when travelling.
Last week I drove the fully electric version of the 5008, where the range with a full charge was approximately 500km. A long-range version with a 98kWh battery and a claimed range of 668 kilometres is due in Ireland later this year. That’s a very attractive figure for anybody worried about buying an electric car and the Irish price will be €55,495.
The boot size is 348 litres, which about the same as a small hatchback car, but with all seats folded down the capacity increases to over 900 litres. There is room back there for a spare wheel, but none supplied.
The third row of seats should be very attractive for young children; I reckon they would be very happy back there with their iPhones. The middle row of seats slides forwards and backwards to allow the best use of space for its occupants
This car is, I think, an attractive offer from Peugeot as it’s the only seven-seater with a price point of just under €51k, while the hybrid version has been identically priced to give the Irish customers two choices.
It’s a big motor, measuring 4.7 metres long and 1.8 metres wide, but very easy to drive. And I loved the high driving position which gives great views of the road.
Inside you get a very attractive lay-out with what I would describe as a ‘demarcation console’ between the driver and front seat passenger.
There are some lovely touches of grey fabric on the dash that gives the interior a classy look and coupled with an attractive infotainment screen and a sporty steering wheel, makes for a beautiful finish.
