More than half of Irish motorists consider EVs as fuel prices rise

Why is that a surprise?

It’s a surprise because electric vehicles still account for only a minority of new car sales in Ireland, with 26 per cent of new car buyers so far in 2026 going for all-electric models. Less surprising is why more and more Irish consumers are considering the switch to electric — 56 per cent told Carzone that higher petrol and diesel prices are foremost in their minds.

That’s a good thing, right?

Potentially so, and if any good can come of Donald Trump’s war with Iran, it’s that those higher energy prices are indeed making consumers more likely to switch to electric, which has a double-whammy of goodness. On one hand, it means lower emissions from transport and travel, and on the other, it means we’re less dependent on imported oil for personal transport.

So what’s the downside?

The downside is that a large number of Irish car buyers — 27 per cent — say that rising electricity costs are already putting them off making the switch to electric. That’s a serious issue, and, of course, it too is linked to higher oil prices, which in general lead to higher overall energy prices. Electricity prices in Ireland have gone up quite a bit this year, by between five and 10 per cent compared to 2025. In October, Bord Gáis Energy and SSE Airtricity increased typical electricity bills by 8.8 per cent and 8.9 per cent respectively, while Energia announced an average increase of 4.73 per cent. Some EV-specific Energia charging rates will increase by considerably more, so it is becoming more expensive to charge at home. However, if you’re covering the average annual national driving distance of 16,000km, charging an electric car at home is still much cheaper than fuelling a petrol or diesel model.

What about charging on public chargers?

That’s already too expensive, and getting worse. The ESB has already raised its prices for all of its public chargers this year, and many providers will charge as much as 80c per kWh if you’re paying by debit or credit card at the charger. Cheaper rates are available with monthly subscriptions, but that doesn’t suit every driver. Fast-charging costs have now reached a point where you’ll spend around €40 to charge some of the most popular electric models from 10 to 80 per cent. For the amount of range you’re getting, that’s actually close to price parity with petrol or diesel power.

Can the public charging prices be brought down?

In theory, yes. Your domestic electricity comes with a VAT component of nine per cent, whereas public charging attracts the full 23 per cent VAT rate. There have been proposals at Government level to equalise the two VAT charges at the lower rate, but so far nothing has come of it — the usual Irish officialdom approach of putting things on the long finger.

Will any of this get better?

Maybe. If the war in the Middle East can be ended and regular oil supplies resumed, that will bring down the cost of energy overall, but it might also mean fewer people consider switching to an electric car. Research has shown that it’s sustained high fuel prices, rather than short-lived spikes, that really influence people’s decisions, so there’s a delicate balance to be found between making all energy more affordable and making sure that the spur to choose an electric car is still there.

Meanwhile, the latest AA Ireland figures put the cost of filling a 50-litre tank at approximately €93 for petrol and €97 for diesel in September.

Conor Faughnan, Carzone’s independent motoring expert, said: “For anyone weighing up the options, it’s important to look at the full cost of ownership rather than any one price increase in isolation. Purchase price, how and where you’ll charge, annual mileage and the comparative cost of petrol or diesel all play a part in determining what makes financial sense for an individual motorist. Motorists considering their next car are being pulled in two directions. Higher petrol and diesel prices make the potential savings from moving away from the pump more attractive, but rising electricity prices inevitably become part of the calculation too. What’s particularly interesting is how sensitive that calculation appears to be. More than half of motorists were already considering an EV before the latest electricity price announcements, so the appetite is clearly there, but for a significant proportion the cost of charging could influence whether that interest ultimately translates into a purchase.”