Ireland's January EV sales up 112 pct year-on-year

The number of electric vehicles (EVs) sold in Ireland surged 112 percent in January this year when compared with the same month of last year, while its sales of traditional vehicles powered by fossil fuels tumbled more than 34 percent, said the country's Central Statistics Office on Tuesday.

In January, a total of 3,320 EVs were sold in Ireland compared with 1,566 EVs sold in January 2021. These included 1,813 electric-only vehicles and 1,507 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), up 145 percent and 82 percent respectively year-on-year.

The number of fossil-fuel vehicles sold in the country in January 2022 stood at 7,458, down 34.33 percent when compared with 11,358 units sold in January 2021.

The above-mentioned figures only refer to the new private cars sold in the country.

In January 2022, a total of 15,814 new private cars were sold in Ireland, down 6.7 percent when compared with the 16,948 units sold in the corresponding month of last year.

Of all the new cars sold in the month, the share of EVs accounted for 21 percent, up almost 12 percentage points compared with a year ago.

In a climate action plan unveiled by the Irish government in December last year, the country intends to increase the number of electric vehicles on its road from the current 45,000 to 945,000 by 2030, which means a 20-fold increase for EVs in the country within the next decade.

The Irish government has also set the target of ending the sale of fossil-fuel cars by 2030 and banning the use of such cars by 2045.