20 Oct 2019
Posted by Barry Aldworth 
Almost 1 in 10 Irish motorists intend on making the change to an electric vehicle when they next purchase a car, a recent survey has found.
In response to an AA Car Insurance survey of over 7,000 Irish motorists, 9.21% stated they were ‘very likely’ to opt to make the switch to an electric vehicle when next changing their car. Meanwhile, a further 23.26% of respondents stated they were somewhat likely to avoid purchasing a petrol or diesel vehicle when next buying a car.
“For a long-time we spoke about electric cars as being the future, but the truth of the matter is that they are very much a part of present day motoring and the number of electric vehicles on our roads will only grow in the coming years. For now, there are still some who have concerns about the technology and the mileage range, but as more and more manufacturers enter the electric vehicle market these fears are becoming something of the past,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs stated. “Today the typical electric car has an effective mileage range of between 200 and 300 kilometres between charges, which for the average motorist who uses their car primarily to commute to and from work is more than enough to meet their needs.”
“In the longer-term, we do need to continue to make charging points more visible in public areas and along motorways to offset the concerns of those who avoid electric cars because of the occasional trip their have to make from Cork to Dublin. Some progress has been made in achieving this but unfortunately, even the recently announced investment in charging points installation from government doesn’t go as far as it really needs to.”
The survey also found that over 60% of motorists surveyed factor in the environmental impact of their car when purchasing or renting a vehicle.
Of those surveyed by the AA, 26.56% of respondents stated they strongly consider the environmental impact of any car they purchase or rent. Meanwhile, a further 35.26% admitted to giving some consideration to the impact of their car usage on their carbon footprint.
“Our individual carbon footprint is something that more and more of us are becoming aware of, which underscores the importance of providing alternatives to the private car across Ireland. While modern cars are cleaner than ever before, as a nation we are overly reliant on the car as a result of a history of inadequate investment in public transport and cycling infrastructure,” Faughnan added. “Where you build quality cycle lanes and provide reliable public transport, history shows us that people are willing to use it and leave the car at home. However, until we start to make progress in this area, particularly in our cities across Ireland, than we are going to face significant challenges when it comes to meeting our climate change obligations.”
