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Irish Government and ESB signed a new electric car deal with PSA Peugeot Citroën – Grants of up to €5000 available from 1st January last.

PSA Peugeot Citroën on Thursday, December 2nd 2010, introduced two new electric car models to Ireland, as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Irish Government and ESB. Viewing Ireland as an ideal market for electric cars PSA Peugeot Citroën will supply the Irish market with the Peugeot iOn and Citroën C-Zero.

Speaking at the signing agreement, Minister Eamon Ryan, TD, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources said,

“Two years ago, I set out Ireland’s ambition to pioneer electric cars. We said we were open for business, the ESB agreed to build the charging infrastructure and we initiated a grant scheme for the customer. We have all the elements in place to be a true world leader in the electrification of private transport.

I welcome PSA Peugeot Citroën’s involvement in this project. 2011 will be the year electric cars become a common sight on Irish roads”, the Minister said.

The electrification of transport is required for the successful transition to carbon neutral sustainable travel.

The Irish Government’s target is to achieve 6,000 passenger vehicles in operation in by 2012. This target has been set in order to generate the critical mass necessary to assist Ireland in achieving its overall goal of ensuring that 10% of all vehicles (equivalent to 230,000 vehicles) are electric by 2020.

ESB has committed to installing 1,500 publicly accessible charging stations, 2,000 domestic charging points and 30 fast charging units on a nationwide basis throughout Ireland by the end of 2011.

ESB’s Chief Executive, Padraig McManus said:

“Ireland is one of the first countries in the world to build a nationwide electric vehicle charging infrastructure and to put in place other necessary conditions to facilitate the widespread adoption of ecars.

This agreement with PSA Peugeot Citroën further supports the expansion of ecar use among the public and demonstrates that car manufacturers view Ireland as an ideal location to develop carbon-neutral driving”.

Peugeot and Citroën will each provide 50 electric cars on the Irish market in 2011, with that figure rising to meet demand.

Training on the Peugeot and Citroën Electric vehicles and their maintenance began in Ireland in March 2010 and the first cars will arrive in January 2011.

Prices and equipment details for the Peugeot iOn and Citroën C-Zero will be announced in January.

Speaking at the introduction of the vehicles George Harbourne, Managing Director, Peugeot said:

“Peugeot has a long history in the production of electric vehicles. It launched its first electric vehicle in 1941, the three wheeled VLV.

In 1995 it launched what is still the best selling electric vehicle, the Peugeot 106 electric.

Now with the introduction of the Peugeot iOn, Peugeot will further strengthen its position as the as the leading producer of electric vehicles.”

Also at the launch Frederic Soulier, Managing Director, Citroën Ireland commented:

“Citroën has been pioneering more fuel-efficient, cleaner motoring, such as the common rail HDi engines and Diesel Particulate Filter now fitted on most new Citroën diesels long before all the hype.

The move into the Electric Vehicle market is a natural extension to our environmental commitment and shows that green efficiency is at the heart of our business.

Ireland is ideally positioned to take electric vehicles and we are looking forward to sharing in this growing market with the Citroën C-Zero.”

The Minister confirmed that grants of up to €5000 for electric and hybrid cars will be available from January 1st.

The above was released in advance of the December 2010 budget. It is good news for those intent on buying an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and a welcome incentive to change the mindset that many people have remembering the not so great electric vehicles from yester-year.

NOTE: THIS SCHEME WILL BE CASH LIMITED AND WILL OPERATE ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS …………SO GET IN QUICK!

Break it down for me

Battery Electric Vehicle           Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Grant         €5,000                   up to €2,500

VRT           €0                           Relief of up to €2,500

Eligible Vehicles

Vehicles which meet the following criteria will be eligible for support

1 Vehicle Type: Passenger vehicle must meet the M1 classification as defined under the European Whole Type Approval Process

2 Safety: Vehicle must meet European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) rating of at least 3 stars

3 Speed: Must achieve 100kph on a level surface

4 Endurance per charge: BEV > 100km / PHEV > 20km

5 Tailpipe CO2 Emissions: BEV = 0g/km / PHEV < 75g/km

6 Vehicle Warranty (including battery): 3 years or 100,000km

Grading of Grant

For PHEVs with a list price greater than €18,000 a grant of €2,500 will be available.

For BEVs with a list price greater than €20,000 a grant of €5,000 will be available.

For BEVs with a price less than or equal to €20,000, the grant will be in proportion to the vehicle costs as follows:

€19,000 < BEV List Price ≤ €20,000 implies Grant = €4,500

€18,000 < BEV List Price ≤ €19,000 implies Grant = €4,000

€17,000 < BEV List Price ≤ €18,000 implies Grant = €3,500

€16,000 < BEV List Price ≤ €17,000 implies Grant = €3,000

€15,000 < BEV List Price ≤ €16,000 implies Grant = €2,500

€14,000 < BEV List Price ≤ €15,000 implies Grant = €2,000

How Do I Access the Grant?

SEAI will produce a list of eligible vehicles and registered Dealerships. The customer will select an eligible BEV or PHEV from a registered Dealer and agree a price for the vehicle less the grant aid.

Upon delivery and acceptance of the vehicle, the customer will be invoiced for the price of the vehicle less the grant aid. The scheme will be cash limited and will run on a first come/first serve basis from 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2012 or if funds are exhausted before this time.

What’s Next?

Visit your car dealer websites/showrooms to see what BEV or PHEV may be available from them in the period 2011 to 2012. Some Dealers may have vehicles available in 2010 for you to test drive.

SEAI will publish a formal list of vehicles and Dealers from which to choose your vehicle. Visit a number of Dealers to get the best price.

Once you’ve agreed a price, the Dealer will apply to SEAI for authorisation of the requested grant amount.

Once this has been approved, the Dealer will order the vehicle and conclude the sale with the customer invoicing the customer for the vehicle at the vehicle price less the grant amount.

The Dealer will supply information to SEAI at the conclusion of the sale.

Once all information is in order, the Dealer will then receive payment for the remaining price of the vehicle.

Using this method the scale of the loan required by the customer to purchase the vehicle is reduced.

For more see: http://www.seai.ie/grants and www.esb.ie/ecars

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