Charges and charging of electric cars

We’re told there is millions in pent-up savings just waiting to be released once Covid restrictions are lifted, and if non-essential retail is to open, one of the first places to bag yourself a big treat may be your local car dealer.  

But lockdown has taught us new lessons for living, and you may well be considering getting quietly behind the wheel of an electric motor. 

With ‘range anxiety’ now mostly a thing of the past (a single electric charge will power around 400km, more than the distance from Cork to Donegal), the removal of the fear of running out of e-juice means more people are prepared to consider fully electric vehicles  . 

According to the motoring lobby group SIMI, there was an increase of over 70pc in new electric car sales over the last 12 months, albeit off a low base.

2,831 were sold in the year to April 2021 versus 1,650 in the previous 12 months, according to latest figures. That’ s against the backdrop of total new car sales of 25,191 in the same period. 

While diesel remains the most popular engine type (despite their anticipated ban from 2030) electrics, and their off-shoots are on the rise. 

This week I’m looking at the different types, how to finance them, and how to grab a grant.

Car Types

Fully electric cars (BEVs) account for just 3.89pc market share and include models like the  Hyundai Kona, BMW i3, Audi e-tron, Nissan Leaf and Kia’s e-Niro. 

At the posh end, the Tesla Model S is the be st known , and despite inquiries into a number of fatal crashes for their auto-drive version, Elon Musk’s company reported bumper annual income of $10.39bn (€8.59bn)  last week and is opening its first EU factory in Berlin later this year. 

BEVs are entirely battery powered and either charged at home (for which there is a grant), or any of the public charge points. ESB owns, operates and maintains around 1,100 of them across Ireland and they have an interactive map to use and a cost calculator. 

There’s a discounted membership plan costing €4.60 a month plus the e-charge, priced from 23c/kWh to 33c/kWh depending on charge speed. How much you need depends on the car type, but as an example, the cost of charging a Nissan Leaf for 100km is €3.41 – €4.89.

Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) cars run on mainly electric with a backup petrol engine. There are loads of options here, with several marques offering a range of brands, including Audi, BMW, Ford, Kia, Mercedes and Skoda. Both BEV and PHEV cars qualify for grant aid for new purchases. 

Hybrid cars are by far the most popular type though. Running foremost on a petrol engine, they back up to an electric motor, but cannot be charged using the public or any external point. The charge is derived from the driving of the car. Hybrid cars do not qualify for grants. 

Grants

There are two types of grant: one for the car, the other for a home charging unit. Both are operated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. 

New cars worth over €14,000 qualify for grant aid, which ranges from €2,000 to a maximum of €5,000. After July 1 this year, the maximum PHEV grants will drop to €2,500 and all grants will only apply to cars valued under €60,000. Grants are deducted by the dealer from the price at source. The SEAI website has a listing of all eligible cars to check before you commit.

If you own a new or second-hand (bought after 2018) BEV or PHEV you can apply for a home charger grant of €600. With the grant, you should be able to find a charger for around €500. Most are tethered to the property, and app operated. 

According to Electric Ireland, an overnight charge should cost around €2 on your electricity bill but it’s worth using nightsaver tariffs. Fitting the charger is straightforward, usually to the front of your house and it is not recommended to charge directly from an indoor socket point. 

Motor tax

Low or zero-emission cars benefit from a flat annual motor tax. Electrics cost €120 while PHEVs are €170.

BIK

There is no benefit-in-kind chargeable on fully electric cars provided by an employer to an employee. Hybrids do not qualify.

VRT

Vehicle registration tax (VRT) is paid when you first register a car in Ireland. For new cars bought in Irish garages, the correct VRT is reflected in the sale price. For imports it is calculated according to a Revenue formula and apply, for now, until the end of 2021. 

Electric cars get a heavy discount in VRT. Those valued under €40,000 are eligible for maximum relief of €5,000, between €40,000-€50,000 a tapered scale and nothing over €50,000.

VRT is paid at several rates, but typically based on the open market value, at about 14.5pc. A car worth €40,000 would cost €5,700 in VRT; the grant cuts this to €700. Relief for PHEV and Hybrids ended in 2020.

Shortcuts – electric finances

Car dealers offer personal contract plans (PCPs) for electric cars in the same way they do for petrol or diesel. Some offer extra discounts or incentives to buy electric in addition to grants. Always haggle.

PCP’s typically offer lease agreements over three years, based on an up-front trade in/deposit, final balloon payment and level payments in the middle. The interest rate may be as low as 0pc, which means you’re just paying back the capital cost. The car is not yours until the final payment is made, but you will know the minimum guaranteed value in advance, which may, or may not, be sufficient to ‘roll over’ into the next car’s deposit. Nissan, Renault and Kia have many e-cars at 0pc finance.

Personal loans

Banks and credit unions offer loans for electric vehicle purchase. Typically interest rates are 7pc to 14pc a year but the car cannot be repossessed if you fail to pay. This is why you pay more than a PCP.

An Post offers e-car loans at 8pc APR but only for amounts over €20,000. Consider non-bank lenders like Avant (5.9pc for €20,000 over five years).

Clarification:

In a recent column I wrote how medical expenses can attract tax relief of 20pc. The Med1 form has been done away with, replaced by the facility to claim all your reliefs and credits in one place using the MyAccount services on Revenue.ie. There’s also a handy revenue receipts tracker app to upload all your receipts directly (RRTA).