Electric Vehicles Are Becoming Commonplace, But Northern Ireland Needs To Catch Up

Through the creation of affordable models and vehicles for every occasion, the electric vehicle is starting to take off in the UK. Government statistics show that the sales of electric vehicles (EVs) has risen by 77% over the past year across the United Kingdom, with the north of England being particularly popular. Despite this, Northern Ireland has been slow on the uptake, with the Belfast Telegraph finding it to be the only area of Europe in which EV charging points have declined in number. Addressing the sale, network, and affordability of running an EV in Northern Ireland will help to push the technology forward.

Addressing the network

As the Belfast Telegraph has highlighted, the number of EV charging points in Northern Ireland has declined by 1.1 per 100,000 people over the past three months. Network is absolutely crucial to the proper support of EVs. Driving down costs so that both private and public charging points become affordable leads to widespread adoption, and makes it more viable for electric vehicles to be taken out on the road. This is especially important in Northern Ireland; according to NISRA, 35% of citizens live in rural areas. It can become anxiety-inducing to take an EV out where there might not be proper charging support on the roads, and this is something that prevents purchase and uptake of the vehicles. More must be done to encourage the installation of points throughout the country.

Improving sales

There are some positive signs in the news when it comes to EV uptake. According to The Irish News, sales have recovered in Northern Ireland, with September showing a particularly strong showing of a 12.6% increase. This has, however, followed months of slumps, and it is unclear as to whether the increase is part of a long-term sustainable trend. There are multiple reasons why EV uptake is slow, but a lot of it is, arguably, concerning the reduction in the number of charging points available. There’s also the question of energy costs – at current levels, it’s tough to look at a conversion to electric power.

Rising energy costs

Just as in the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland is facing rising energy costs. The most recent update, impacting Electric Ireland customers and announced in early December, comes in at 24%, according to the BBC. Electricity is roughly four times the cost of gas, according to EDF, and that will factor into charging cars. However, it’s unlikely that these energy costs will last forever, whereas gas prices may stay high. An electric vehicle is a long-term investment, and it may be that consumers start to see the benefits in prioritising electric fuelling.

Good signs on the horizon, then, for the NI EV market, but more needs to be done to protect its rise. More electric charging points, and a rebalancing of the fuel outlook, will make it more viable and attractive to purchase an EV.