Battery hasn’t run flat for EVs

Opinion; by Joe Rayfus, motoring writer

Fully electric cars (BEVs) have gained traction with consumers. With government policy pushing for 936,000 electric cars by 2030, their message was clear: BEVs are the long-term alternative to internal combustion engine vehicles and our hopes of meeting our national emission targets. The majority of motor industry brands have committed to fully electric offerings in the near future.

As society continues to navigate the challenges of climate change and seeks to reduce our carbon footprint, however, the rise of electric vehicles appears to have hit a bump in the road.

For the first five months of the year, new EV registrations were down 21%. Concerns over second hand EV values and talk of dealers refusing to take EVs as trade-ins are undoubtedly contributing factors. However, these ‘market’ issues have developed as a result of low levels of consumer confidence, born out of fears concerning range and charging.

There have been fully electric passenger cars on Irish roads for more than 10 years now, and anti-EV misinformation in circulation on social media isn’t a new phenomenon. Yet somehow, the topic of EVs has become as polarising as an American presidential campaign.

As a motoring journalist, I’ve been driving electric cars for a decade, and can honestly say the evolution of the EV in that time has been remarkable. In 2024, I’ve had 24 different cars on week-long press rotations, 13 of which were full BEVs; the other 11 were a combination of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, petrol, and there was even a lovely 3.3 litre inline-six diesel too.

If previous years are anything to go by, I’ll drive 40,000km this year. My daily commute covers more than 100km on rural roads, national routes, motorways and urban areas.

According to the CSO’s 2019 National Travel Survey, the average Irish petrol car travels 17,000km a year, and the average diesel car 24,000km. So, it’s safe to say that my motoring habits are way beyond that of the average Irish motorist.

In my experience, driving an electric car is handy because 95% of the time, it has zero impact on my day to day motoring. It’s cleaner, smoother, quieter and a lot cheaper. The majority of my charging is done at home, so my need to interact with the public charging infrastructure is minimal.

Only on the rare occasion when I drive a longer distance do I have to give the public network a moment’s thought. And even at that, I just take a moment to check an app so I can sync my coffee and toilet breaks with high-speed charging locations. I’ll admit negative experiences – when someone has blocked access or chargers are broken. They made me realise that the majority of negative EV driving experiences are caused by humans not technology.

My point is, the obsession with an assumed lack of an adequate national charging infrastructure is irrational. Not only is it more expensive than home charging, but based on the CSO evidence and my experience, the majority of BEV drivers should rarely have cause to use it.

The real issue is the lack of joined up thinking on the part of government. The Dept of Transport can’t expect us to replace almost a million vehicles with BEVs, when it’s common for local authorities to grant planning for homes to be built without driveways, and people have no feasible way of charging cars. Likewise, it’s ridiculous to market electric cars as a one size fits all solution.

The motor industry (and in that, I include my motoring media peers), along with government spin doctors need to be honest. Ireland is suitable for electric cars: it is only 486km north to south and 275km west to east. The Polestar 4, which arrives here in August, has a range of greater than 600km. The majority of EVs I’ve driven in recent times cover more than 400km.

Six out of every 10 car journeys by Irish drivers are less than 15 minutes (National Travel Survey 2019). For some motorists, diesel remains the most logical solution, but for the majority, electric cars make sense.

Once we accept that, consumer confidence will go a long way to stabilising second hand values and then dealers will snap them up!