See all Motoring Advice Anyone who spends any time in a town centre these days must surely have noticed the rising number of electric vehicles on our roads. Growth has been rapid in recent years, and while it’s true that growth is slowing in places, the number of electric cars on Irish roads is still increasing every year.
But with the EU demanding that an ever-increasing proportion of new car sales must be electric, governments and manufacturers are faced with the problem of incentivising customers into new battery-powered vehicles. For some, it’s an easy sell – promise range and low running costs, and you’ll have them eating out of your hand – but others are less easily convinced. The Department of Transport has announced green ‘flash’ number plates from 1 July 2025.
There are those who would have you believe electric car sales are in freefall, with customers abandoning them left, right and centre, in favour of fossil-fuelled vehicles. But those who delight in bad electric car news aren’t entirely correct in their summary of the statistics. Yes, the growth in sales may be slowing in certain markets, but the growth is still there – it’s just slightly less rapid.
Nevertheless, the government has decided its incentives, which include cheaper VRT for low- and zero-emission vehicles, need supplementing with the arrival of a ‘green flash’ number plate that marks out electric vehicles and will, hopefully, raise awareness. Ireland isn’t the only country to have come up with such a scheme – a similar system has been in place in the UK since 2020 – but it got us thinking. What else are other countries doing to encourage electric vehicle uptake, and how do our government’s efforts compare?
Germany
The German government recently announced a wide range of incentives for electric vehicles, including tax relief measures and support for small and medium-sized businesses. However, Germany ended its support for private consumers in 2023, choosing instead to focus on supporting infrastructure and the businesses that run and build electric cars. That said, Germany has also gone down the number plate route, allowing owners of electric and plug-in hybrid cars to apply for plates that begin with the letter ‘E’ singling them out as electric vehicles.
France
While neighbouring Germany focuses on support for businesses, France has still retained many of its incentives for private electric vehicle buyers. Consumers can, for example, take advantage of a subsidy worth up to €7,000 for new electric cars that cost less than €47,000, although that is dependent on the vehicle and the buyer’s income. Similarly, those on lower incomes can claim up to €6,000 for scrapping an older, more polluting vehicle and replacing it with a new EV.
Italy
Perhaps surprisingly for a country that proudly gave us Ferrari and Lamborghini, the Italian incentives for electric vehicles are fairly sizeable, even if they’re hardly Europe-leading. Although national subsidies for buying new EVs have been canned, many local regions have put in their own alternatives, with some paying customers handsomely to buy a new electric car. Tax bonuses are also available in the first five years of ownership, and there are subsidies for home charging.
Norway
Norway’s relationship with the EU is a complicated one, but whatever the politics, there’s no doubt the country leads Europe when it comes to electric vehicle incentives. Roughly nine in every ten new cars in Norway are electric, and that’s because there’s no VAT on the cheapest EVs, essentially cutting the price by around 20 per cent. There’s no motor tax on electric cars either, and there are company car tax benefits as well. Electric car drivers in Norway also often benefit from road toll and parking charge exemptions, and they often have access to bus lanes.
UK
Although not an EU member state, parallels will always be drawn between Ireland and its closest neighbour. However, Ireland’s incentives are slightly better than those in the UK, which more or less begin and end with tax breaks. Tax on company cars is lower for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and though those tax breaks are gradually being eroded as time goes on, they are still appealing to customers. And while the green stripe for electric vehicles has been in place since 2020 across the water, the motor tax breaks for private owners have just been removed.