Sale of electric cars rising slowly in Mayo

In the first half of 2019 there were 25 electric and 132 hybrid cars licenced in Mayo – accounting for 2% and 10.6% respectively of new private car sales.

Experts at Insuremycars.ie say that sales are increasing at a slow and steady pace, a progression they expect to quicken as people realise the cost savings available when it comes to insuring these vehicles both on a private and commercial basis.

Jonathan Hehir, managing director of Insuremycars.ie, commented: “The licensing and sales of e-cars, while still small, are on the rise – with an increase of almost 70% in the first half of this year alone.

"These increases are in the face of a car sales market that is in decline, with the overall number of car sales so far this year showing a decrease of 12.2% compared to 2018.

“It's interesting to take a closer look at the regional distribution of electric and hybrid vehicles – what makes them more popular in some counties than others?

"For electric cars the CSO reports Mayo had 2% of new private car sales for the first half of 2019, while Wicklow had the largest proportion (4.7%), followed by Kildare (3.6%) and Leitrim (3.5%). For hybrid vehicles, they accounted for 10.6% of private car sales in Mayo, with Longford having the highest proportion (14.6%), followed by Galway (13.1%) and Cavan (12.5%).”

Despite increases, the company say they have noticed that people are still, to a large extent, unaware of the impact that going electric can have on insurance premiums.

“In most cases, going electric will bring the price you pay down.”

Mr. Hehir added a common anxiety associated with driving an electric car is that it will run out of power in an area which is not near any charging points.

But the government is continuing to increase the availability of fast charging points across Ireland, as well as provide a grant of up to €600 towards a home charging point.