News in Brief

More than one in four Irish motorists (27%) say rising electricity prices have reached the point where they would rule out buying an EV, according to new Carzone research. Another 20% say an electricity price increase of up to 10% would be enough to put them off. Yet higher petrol and diesel prices are having the opposite effect: 56% say increases at the pumps make them more likely to consider an EV. More than half (54%) of those surveyed were already considering an EV for their next car. Uncertainty seems to be the only constant in the car market, unfortunately.

Imported tyres accounted for 40 per cent of all newly fitted tyres in the EU in 2024, according to a new Oxford Economics study commissioned by Tyres Europe. That growing reliance comes despite a substantial European industry, with Tyres Europe members operating more than 70 production plants and 20 R&D centres in Europe. The study says tyre makers are also massively dependent on imported materials: imports represent 11.9 per cent of EU tyre production value, versus a seven per cent economy-wide average, while the EU relies entirely on imports for natural rubber.