Ireland to drop EV toll subsidy programme at the end of 2023
The LEVTI (Low Emissions Vehicle Toll Incentive) program was introduced five years ago and halved tolls for electric cars, will expire at the end of the year, the Irish Department of Transport told RTE News. On July 1, 2023, the Irish government had already reduced the purchase premium for electric cars from €5,000 to €3,500. At the time, the government calculated that 40,000 electric vehicles had been subsidised from the funding pot since 2011, meaning that almost 200 million euros went to private EV drivers over the preceding 12 years. Subsidies for plug-in hybrids were already discontinued in 2022, after having been halved the year before.
The focus for the promotion of e-mobility in Ireland is now primarily aimed at charging infrastructure. The Department of Transport told RTE News that incentives such as a support program for home chargers, discounts for electric vehicles on company car tax and registration tax as well as subsidies for switching to electric cabs and heavy goods vehicles will continue to apply. “This change aligns with similar policies in European nations, where countries including Norway, Germany and France have begun to curb vehicle subsidies,” the Irish Department of Transport explained.
This is not the end to the Irish government’s efforts to support the adoption of electric vehicles: just last week, Ireland introduced measures to provide training for people to repair and maintain electric cars, as well as electric bikes, scooters, trucks, buses, vans and heavy goods vehicles, making infrastructure a logical place to focus efforts.
Ireland’s public transport sector is also struggling to charge its vehicles, as was reported earlier this month. After the first electric bus units were delivered in July of this year, the buses are still not in service because there is nowhere to charge them. Apparently, the NTA encountered problems with obtaining planning permission for the charging infrastructure.
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