Budget 2025: ‘Opportune time’ to prioritise EV support

A leading voice in the motor industry in Ireland has called on the Government to prioritise support for electric vehicles (EVs) in Budget 2025.

It comes as the Society of the Irish Motor Industry’s recent statistical release reported August as the sixth consecutive month of falling new car registrations this year, highlighted by the continuing drop in electric vehicle sales, which SIMI says is now down 25% compared to last year.

“With Budget 2025 fast approaching, it is an opportune time for the Government to intervene to support the electric vehicle project, one which is so crucial for reducing emissions in the transport sector,” director general of SIMI, Brian Cooke, said.

“Government incentives to date have been fundamental to the EV transition, but they have to be continued and enhanced. SIMI is urging the Government to: extend the Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) incentive at current levels, which will help transition the business fleet faster and support the development of a used EV market; increase SEAI grants back to 2022 levels until the EV market recovers; and accelerate the roll-out of a fit for purpose national charging infrastructure.

“At this crucial stage in the EV transition, these measures will increase the sale of EVs, signalling their importance to consumers, boosting confidence and reassurance in electric vehicles.

“Budget 2025 presents an opportunity for Government to demonstrate its commitment to fleet electrification and is an opportunity they should not miss.”

Among the motoring measures introduced in Budget 2024 was an extension of company car BIK reliefs.

In 2023, the BIK on company cars moved to a new CO2-based system.

As part of this, a €10,000 relief on the original market value of a car with emissions below 179g/km was introduced.

For electric vehicle owners, this is in addition to the existing €35,000 relief.

The €10,000 relief was extended for a further year as part of Budget 2024 while it was also announced that the €35,000 BIK relief on EVs would run until the end of 2025.