The Irish Department of Transport is set to introduce a new pilot scrappage scheme, which will allow drivers with a petrol or diesel car over 13 years old to benefit from grants of up to €8,500, with the scheme operating on a first come, first serve basis.
Owners who scrap eligible cars will receive a grant of €5,000 just for scrapping the vehicle, which can then be supported by the existing €3,500 grant if purchasing a new EV. This brings the total possible discount on a new EV to €8,500, a significant discount over list price, particularly for some of the cheapest electric cars. At the same time, the existing €3,500 grant for new EVs will be tweaked slightly: From the end of July, only EVs priced below €50,000 will be eligible for the grant, rather than the €60,000 price cap previously in place.
The €5,000 scrappage part of the incentive scheme, which starts in July, is being operated strictly on a pilot basis – and will run until the €10 million fund allocated to the pilot is used up. If all of that money’s used up, it’ll help take 2,000 older polluting cars off the road. This relatively small number indicates that a lot more funding will be required if Ireland sees success in the pilot program, and wishes for a wider rollout of this scrappage incentive.
The significant discount attained for scrapping an older vehicle is likely to be much higher than the car in question’s market value, which could seriously encourage EV adoption across Ireland by further placing the cost argument in the EV’s favour. The neighbouring UK also offers an Electric Car Grant on selected models, up to £3,750 (€4,340). However, with Ireland taking this bold move by adding a scrappage element to its scheme, could countries like the UK follow?
