by Michael Lockhart
THERE were 458 vehicles licensed for the first time in Donegal last month, but only 16 were fully electric.
That’s according to latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Diesel vehicles are the most popular in the county, with 208 newly licensed diesel only vehicles, followed by petrol vehicles with 145.
However, hybrids accounted for 89 vehicles licensed in Donegal in September.
The top 10 vehicle brands in Donegal in September were: Volkswagen (82); Ford (42); Kia (34); Toyota (34); Audi (32); BMW (31; Skoda (31); Peugeot (30); Nissan (19) and Hyundai (15)
Nationally, the Skoda Octavia and the Skoda Kodiaq overtook Hyundai and Toyota models to become the most licensed new cars in Ireland in September.
Although the two Skoda models top the table for car models, Toyota was the most popular make of new private car licensed in September 2024.
The CSO data also shows there has been a 25 per cent decrease in the number of electric cars licensed for the first time between January and September this year.
Briain Kelly of EnergyEfficiency.ie said that it is not realistic for the Government to expect to have 945,000 electric vehicles on the road by the end of the decade.
“Ireland’s 2030 EV target of almost one million EVs is probably not possible with current trends,” said Mr Kelly.
“Electric vehicle targets will be missed across Europe for a number of reasons. While electric cars have tremendous benefits, it is proving difficult to persuade many motorists.
“There are still some things we can do to encourage people to go electric though, such as installing more charging stations in rural areas to eliminate range anxiety.”
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