The race to increasing our electric vehicle purchases to meet fresh government targets feels a little like déjà vu.
In Northern Ireland, the industry has warned that if around 50 sizeable green energy schemes are not shovel-ready by 2026 then we have no hope in achieving the Government’s ambitious 80% renewables target by 2030.
But Stormont doesn’t appear to be making any effort to improve this likelihood – speeding up planning, introducing green lanes for schemes or assisting through grants or other means of financial assistance. It just seems like it’s crossing its fingers and hoping the private sector works all of this out on its own.
And there’s a similar theme emerging in the electric car market. The UK Government wants us to all, eventually, move to pure EV in the next decade. And that’s a positive position to take.
But it doesn’t appear to be rooted in reality. Sales are rising across the UK, but have stalled somewhat from a previous surge, and remain behind the 22% zero-emission vehicle target set by government.
That means 22% of new cars registered from a manufacturer’s output (applying to the majority of car makers producing significant numbers of vehicles) must be electric, otherwise they face huge £15,000 fines for each polluting car sold.
We’re only at just over 18% in the UK, with sales here in Northern Ireland at around the 16% mark.
But, again, the industry, and us as consumers, appear to be being left on their own to achieve this ambitious target.
Gone are the days when there was a fairly sizeable government subsidy for buying new EVs, or funding, or part-funding, the installation of home chargers – a necessity for a driver if the move to electric is going to be a realistic proposition and cost-saver.
I recently spoke to Charles Hurst chief Jeff McCartney, who has called on government to introduce grants or some form of incentives to help boost EV car sales. It’s a simple premise but one that seems essential.
We’re still in the awkward position where many electric versions of traditional petrol cars cost more, or considerably more, than their internal combustion engine counterparts. But this case being made doesn’t make sense any more. The cost of producing batteries – the core of every electric vehicle – has plummeting in the last 10 years.
Bloomberg has reported that Chinese-made batteries have dropped more than 50% in the last year alone.
So, not only do we not receive a financial incentive to go green, we’re paying through the nose for the privilege.
Even a subsidy bringing EVs into parity with their petrol or diesel counterparts would go a considerable way in encouraging drivers to make the switch.
I had the opportunity to drive one of BYD’s new Dolphin electrics recently on a family holiday down south – which you can read about in the next edition of Ulster Business – and it takes little time for the EV bug to settle in. Switching back to a diesel Golf feels a little like jumping into a horse and cart.
The current Labour government has said it will bring back the 2030 cut-off for petrol and diesel new car sales. If we’re to get anywhere close to that as a realistic proposition, then now is the time for action.