SALES OF ELECTRIC vehicles in Ireland have fallen for a ninth consecutive month as year-on-year sales continue to decline.

In October of this year, 529 new electric vehicles were registered in Ireland, a 16% decrease compared to the same period on 2023. So far in 2024, there has a been a decrease in sales of approximately 25% compared with last year.

Electric vehicles currently account for almost 14% of the automobile market in Ireland.

Brian Cooke, Director General of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, said that the decline was evidence of a “worrying trend”, and emphasised the need for government supports and initiatives to boost sales.

The vast majority of new registrations were made in Dublin – 8,572 – and Cork – 1,558. Leitrim saw the smallest number of registrations in October, with only 32. However, Cavan saw the greatest percentage decrease, with over 50% less electric vehicles registered in the county compared to 2023.

The continued decline in sales comes as the European Commission imposed tarrifs on Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers, which came into force on Wednesday.

The tarrifs, which reach as much as 35% for some companies, are designed to level a playing field that the Commission says is made uneven by heavy subsidies given by the Chinese government to its auto-manufacturers.

Ireland backed the imposition of tarrifs.

However, the failure of electric vehicles to compete as a market leader in Ireland so far, have potential implications outside of the auto industry.

Phil Barnes, Business and Development manager at Geotab – which produces software and hardware for use inside vehicles – said that the sales data makes Ireland an “outlier in Europe”.

“Only three other members of the EU27 recording steeper falls in sales according to the latest data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association,” he said.

He also said that the lagging performance of electric vehicles compared to their fossil fuel equivalents is a serious impediment to Ireland’s ability to meet its targets under the Climate Action Plan.

“Failure to change course is set to prove costly with the Climate Change Advisory Council recently highlighting the potential for Ireland to incur EU fines of up to €8 billion due to our inability to tackle emissions,” he said.

“Zero emission vehicles will be a cornerstone of any strategy to address this and we need to look at how other markets like the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, and Portugal are seeing spikes in sales of EVs, when Ireland is headed in the wrong direction.”