EV Incentives and EV Charger Grants in Ireland

The Irish Government plans to increase electric vehicle adoption on the Emerald Isle. Its investments in low carbon technologies doubled in 2020. A generous incentive package, including electric vehicle charger supports, has led to a significant rise in electric car sales. So, more and more people choose to apply for EV purchase grants and make the switch. 

Let’s take a look at the main EV incentives available in Ireland.

Privately Purchased EVs

Nowadays, there is a grant of €5,000 available for qualifying battery electric vehicles (BEV) when bought privately and priced at €20,000 or more. Smaller grants are offered for lower value EVs. However, if an approved electric car with a List Price of less than €14,000 will not qualify.

The grant also applies to Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV), although from July this year, the maximum grant to PHEV will be reduced to €2,500.

Commercially Purchased EVs

SEAI suggests financial supports towards the N1 category electric cars for business and public entities. These vehicles are usually small goods carrying vans with a maximum mass of not more than 3500kg. A maximum of €3,800 is available. However, approved electric cars priced lower than €14,000 do not qualify for a grant. This financial aid applies to new vehicles only.

EV Chargers at Home

A government suggests a support scheme to help homeowners install an EV charging point on their property. You have to own an eligible car, new or second-hand, to apply. The EV charger grant can be up to €600. You can use it to purchase and install a home electric vehicle charger unit. 

Here are some of the eligibility criteria:

• Any private owner or an employee with exclusive permission to use a Company Vehicle can apply for this grant.
• The electric car must be parked on parking associated with the applicant's home. The EV charging point must be connected to the fuse board of the property of the applicant. Moreover, this property cannot be associated with another electric vehicle charger grant.
• You can apply if you buy battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plugin hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). They can be new, second-hand, imported or purchased in Ireland. The car has to be registered to the applicant and their property. 

Additional supports to EV owners:

• Public Charge Point Scheme offers financial aid of up to €5000 per socket to local authorities for on-street public chargers.
• Vehicle Registration Tax relief of up to €5,000 is available when buying BEVs until the end of 2021.
• Benefit-in-Kind tax relief can be obtained for BEVs.
• There are grants of up to €25,000 in the taxi/hackney/limousine sector to support the purchase of EVs. 
• BEV owners can utilize the lowest rate of motor tax and a discount on tolls of 50%. PHEV owners get a 25% discount.

Another recent initiative is to address the range anxiety of those who do not have a home EV charger. The Minister for Transport announced the first approvals for funding public EV charging points by Local Authorities on July 1st, 2021. It is vital that infrastructure keeps ahead of demand as more people opt for clean and efficient cars.

There are many reasons for switching to EV. The variety of electric cars is increasing. So does the range and the number of public charging points available. Besides, the government continues to support this transition by offering incentives for private EV owners and for businesses. You can obtain a subsidy for buying an EV or installing an electric vehicle charger at home. Usually, when purchasing a car, the dealer can apply for a grant for you.