Press
Better Place Welcomes Government Announcement on Developing an Electric Vehicle Network for Ireland
November 26, 2008
BACKGROUND: Today Minister Eamon Ryan and Minister Noel Dempsey issued a joint statement announcing Ireland’s plan to transition 10 percent of the overall road transport fleet to electric by 2020. Specifically, they plan to create a $1 million pilot project, tax incentives for corporate bodies purchasing electric vehicles, assistance for individuals purchasing electric vehicles, and the establishment of a National Task Force.
Christian Egenfeldt, European Business Development Director of Better Place commenting on the Government statement said, “Better Place, the world’s leading sustainable mobility operator, is encouraged by Ireland’s progressive measures to transition to a sustainable form of mobility and, as such, is one of the many markets we are actively evaluating. As part of our due diligence, we closely review the economics, policies and consumer attitude toward a move to electric transportation powered by renewable energy. Our preliminary data for Ireland conducted by research firm Behaviour & Attitude, for example, suggests that 82% of consumers would be more likely to buy an electric car if the vehicle benefitted from lower levels of tax.
“We believe that the move to the Car 2.0 (a sustainable transportation model of electric vehicles powered by renewable energy) era in places like Ireland will serve as an economic and environmental stimulus blueprint for government leaders around the world. The Better Place model, which is being deployed in Israel, Denmark, Australia and California, is an open network model built on industry standards, allowing for an ecosystem of industry players to collaborate and invest in this emerging industry,” he added.
“Better Place applauds Ireland for taking the first steps to ending its addiction to oil and building a more sustainable future,” Christian concluded.