Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 November 2021
208. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Transport if he will reverse the decision to remove grants for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in view of the important role they are playing in the transition to full electric; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57470/21]
View answerThe SEAI grant scheme aims to encourage behavioral change and support the Government’s commitment to achieving a 51% reduction in transport emissions by 2030.
The grant schemes are kept under continuous review to ensure that they are as effective as possible in driving the decarbonisation effort.
To date in 2021, over €68m has been provided in grants to support the purchase of electric cars. By year end, this will represent almost a doubling of supports to EVs in 2020.
As a result, the EV percentage of overall car registrations has increased significantly this year and represented over 15% to end Q3 2021. Government is on track as regards the number of vehicles which need to be sold in 2021 to reach its projected annual EV target as set out in the CAP 2019. As of 31 October, there were 46,615 EVs registered in the national fleet.
In the past year, many new BEVs with ranges of over 400km on a single charge have been introduced to the Irish market. Range anxiety is no longer an issue for electric vehicle purchasers, and while PHEVs provided an interim option, but emit both CO2 and air pollution emissions, this interim option is no longer necessary. Government supports should be provided to full electric vehicles, which will be the most effective means of reaching our carbon reduction pathway.
I announced after the budget that grant support for PHEVs will be removed from 1 January 2022. Any PHEV which registers for the grant in accordance with the scheme rules before this date will be approved and the commitment carried forward into Q1 2022. However, from 1 January 2022 the SEAI will no longer accept grant applications in respect of PHEVs. For the top 10 PHEVS sold in 2020, four are high cost vehicles for which a grant would not be applicable and two have a direct BEV equivalent, that would be more useful in terms of decarbonizing the car fleet. Of the four remaining, three are made by manufacturers that have an equivalent size BEV model and only one model has no BEV alternative in its range.
Under the Terms and Conditions of the grant process, drawdowns normally need to be made by year end (31 Dec). However, due to the slowdown in global car manufacturing, I am extending this drawdown date to 31 March 2021, to allow time for customers to take final possession of the vehicle.
It should be noted that PHEV owners will still be able to avail of other incentives currently in place including:
- Tolling reductions of 25% up to a threshold of €500 per annum per household for private vehicles and a maximum annual threshold of €1,000 for commercial vehicles;
- Low rate of annual motor tax; and
- Home charger grant of €600 per household.
