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Copyright © 2024 CGTN. 京ICP备20000184号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466
Electric vehicles may have been around for well over a century, but only recently have new disruptors in the car industry plugged in to their potential in reducing carbon emissions and mitigating the effects of the climate crisis.
They are calling it a 'movement' with electric car sales surging in Ireland and a shift away from much-loved gas-guzzlers to climate-friendly EVs gathering pace. Driving that shift are environmental concerns, but also the recent cost-of-living crisis affecting everything from housing to fuel.
The BYD Seal which competes with the Tesla Model 3 on display at the Dublin BYD showroom /CGTN
Fully electric cars are around 50 percent cheaper to run than their fossil fuel counterparts at just 11 cents per kilometer. And while EVs are still expensive for many pockets, these lower running costs mean significant savings in the long run.
Chinese electric carmaker BYD leading the charge
BYD – Build Your Dreams – is a well-known EV brand in China, but only launched in Ireland less than a year ago. Globally, it's already the biggest seller of EVs in the world, outstripping Tesla in the last quarter of 2023.
Its impact has already been significant in the Irish market with the BYD Seal providing a direct competitor for the Tesla Model 3, and the BYD Dolphin providing an entry-level electric car for around $25,000 thanks to a government grant available on all new EVs.
Irish people interested in BYD electric cars at the showroom in Dublin /CGTN
CGTN visited the new BYD showroom in Dublin to find out why people are making the switch to electric and met Joe Twomey, who works for SAP in Ireland.
"I decided to move to electric mainly because of the running costs," Twomey says. "It's a good bit cheaper, I will be able to charge at my house, it's a lot to do with running costs less than a petrol or diesel car. And obviously for the environment too."
One of the most common phrases heard in the BYD showroom is "we are doing it for the grandkids," according to BYD staff.
BYD is one of China's larger EV manufacturers /CGTN
How many electric cars are on Irish roads right now?
CGTN also spoke to Gerard Lynch, managing director of MSL Motor Group.
"At the moment, it's just over, probably 100,000 electric cars on Irish roads," he says. "By the end of 2025 the target is 175,000; by 2030 it's 850,000 electric cars.
"Now, that's probably an ambitious target right now," Lynch adds, "but we are seeing significant growth year on year. We've gone from about 13 percent of the market in terms of electric vehicles to a 25 percent share hopefully this year (2024)."
An electric car charging in Ireland, plans to improve the charging network is said to be helping convince people to go electric. /CGTN
Irish government grants for electric cars
The Irish government is also helping with grants of around $4,000 as part of their climate action plan. Anxiety of the distance EVs can cover is being calmed too as Ireland's Environment Minister Eamon Ryan has promised high-powered fast chargers every 60 km along Ireland's main roads, a $100 million-plus investment.
Electric vehicles still have a long road ahead, with annual global sales at just 14 percent against traditional combustion-engine vehicles in 2022 for example.
But signs of people making the shift in Ireland point to a promising future.
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