Elected councillors in Kerry have been regularly campaigning for additional electric vehicle charging stations to be provided in public car parks but just how much the demand will increase going forward remains to be seen following new research revealing that Ireland is one of the most expensive countries in Europe in which to charge a car.
It costs €19.87 per full charge and that equates to €5.79 to drive 100km.
So, if trends continue, it could very well be a case of be careful what you wish for.
New research from Switcher.ie reveals the up-to-date costs of charging an electric vehicle across Europe, from the cheapest to the most expensive countries, and Ireland is the ninth most expensive.
Denmark is the most expensive in Europe at €36.17 per charge while Kosovo is the cheapest at just €3.92 per charge.
Ireland registered over 18,448 new battery electric cars between January and July 2023, accounting for 18per cent of the new car sales market, including hybrids which represented around 45 per cent of the market.
Although a raft of incentives encourages EV take-up in Ireland, including purchase subsidies, tax breaks, grants and toll road discounts, the fact is it remains expensive to charge a vehicle.
In Ireland, EV charging costs shot up by 19 per cent during 2022 but supporters of the electric option stress that, despite the steep hike, sales of EV cars, which can be up to 75 per cent cheaper to run than petrol or diesel, continue to climb.
Kerry County Council has heard in the recent past that if officials in the Departments of Tourism and Transport are seeking initiatives to support a cleaner environment, they should be looking to introduce funding supports to encourage hotel, guesthouse and bed and breakfast owners to install electric vehicle chargers to be availed of by their guests.
Give your business the boost it needs. For great value advertising contact news@killarneytoday.com or call 087-2229761
