Grant Incentives for PHEVs Canceled in Ireland, as Cars Found to Pollute Far Beyond Advertised

Image: Motoring Research

Grant incentives for the purchase of PHEVs have been canceled in Ireland, as they pollute far more than advertised. The new rule will take effect on January 1, 2022, and the main focus will be on supporting BEVs.

The Irish government has canceled the grant incentive offered to PHEV buyers, according to The Irish Times. From January 1, the grant in the amount of €2,500 will no longer exist. However, PHEVs, which were supposed to be delivered in 2021 but have been delayed due to the global semiconductor shortage, will have the opportunity to receive incentives until March 31, 2022.

To date, 7,452 new PHEVs have been registered this year, accounting for 7.4% of the new car market. Car dealers reacted poorly to the news, saying the PHEV is an important stepping stone to the transition to all-electric vehicles, especially in some rural areas of Ireland where charging infrastructure is lacking.

Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, said: “It is important that we continue to support consumers in making the switch to electric vehicles, and I am pleased to confirm a significant increase in supports for fully electric vehicles in 2022, and the supporting recharging infrastructure.

“The arrival of long-range, fully electric vehicles on the market means that range anxiety can become a thing of the past. A single charge on one of these will cover well over 400km range. While plug-in hybrids provided a part-electric solution for motorists who took longer journeys or were concerned about EV range, they were a compromise in terms of both emissions and air quality.

“Now that range anxiety has been addressed by manufacturers, we will focus our exchequer resources on fully electric vehicles.”

In reality, PHEV vehicles are not significant in the transition to green vehicles. In fact, they are produced by automakers in order to reduce average emissions and avoid related fines. Furthermore, car manufacturers cannot guarantee that customers really regularly use the battery in order to keep the car moving. And finally, PHEV cars are more polluting than the automakers themselves claim.

“Analysis of databases of real-world emissions of PHEVs by T&E shows rather than emitting on average 44g of CO2 per kilometer, as measured using a flawed laboratory test, most PHEV are actually emitting over 2½ times this level of CO2 emissions when driven on the road,” said a Transport & Environment report.

“Over the lifetime of the vehicle, a new PHEV in 2020 will emit about 28 tonnes of CO2, slightly less than a conventional hybrid car (33 tonnes). In comparison, a petrol or diesel car emits 39 tonnes or 41 tonnes, respectively. A new battery electric car will emit about 3.8 tonnes from the electricity it uses."

H/T @AlCocan/Twitter

© 2021, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.

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