We're not living happily EV after

>> Ireland is 9th most costly in EU for charging a vehicle >> Huge increase in EV sales needed to meet our targets

- SEAN MURPHY

IRELAND is the ninth most expensive country to charge an electric car in the European Union and lags well behind in terms of charging points.

The details expose how far behind the country is compared to other EU states, according to critics.

They say the new data highlights Ireland's position, while analysts claim an array of figures indicate that "there is little hope" of the Government reaching its target of 940,000 electric vehicles (EV) on Irish roads in the next seven years.

Over 1,400 EVs were sold in June but a massive 12,000 EVs would need to be purchased every month between now and 2023 for the Government's ambition to be met, according to commercial telematics company Geotab.

David Savage, vice-president of Geotab, said: "Buying 12,000 EVs a month is the equivalent of the entire car market switching to electric vehicles overnight."

Comparison website switcher.ie highlighted the lack of electric car charging points and stated that it costs five times more to charge up in Ireland than some European nations.