New data highlights the growing appetite for electric and hybrid vehicles among Irish motorists.
The data reveals hybrid and electric car views on Carzone have increased by 53 and 106 per cent respectively year on year.
These statistics coincide with the Government’s recent commitment to increase the number of electric vehicles on Irish roads with the ‘Climate Action Plan’ which details Ireland’s plan to work towards a target of 950,000 EVs on Irish roads by 2030.
The Nissan Leaf is Ireland’s best-selling EV and has had the highest number of views on Carzone, above any other EV models, so far this year. It says views for the Nissan Leaf have increased by 19 per cent since 2018 (from 104,311 views to 123,818 ). The interest in the Nissan Leaf is set to increase further over the coming months with the launch of the new 62kwh Nissan Leaf that will provide a 385-kilometre range on a single charge.
Nissan also claims the title of most viewed EV brand on its site for 2019 to date. Tesla is the second most viewed EV brand with views of the Tesla Model S up four per cent on last year and the arrival of the its new Model 3 will likely spur further interest.
The BMW’s i3 is third on the most viewed EV list, with the Renault Zoe fourth and Volkswagen’s recently updated e-Golf makes up the top five.
With high consumer interest in EVs, along with very ambitious government sustainability plans (which most experts believe are not achievable ), the demand for EVs will continue to increase into next year. The just arrived Kia Soul and Niro offer real world 440kms range and there are a number of other new EV launches forthcoming, including the Opel Corsa-e, Mercedes-Benz EQC, Peugeot’s e-208 and the Volkswagen ID.3.
The appeal of hybrid vehicles has also become apparent based on similar data source. It says that Toyota retains its position as the most viewed hybrid car brand on Carzone with the Prius Hybrid, Yaris Hybrid and C-HR increasing in popularity each year. Lexus is the second most viewed hybrid car brand, followed by BMW.
The Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid has had an increase of 75 per cent in views since last year. It is the number one viewed hybrid car on the site for 2019 so far. Views of the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid have increased from 63,402 in 2018 to 111,250 for the same period in 2019. With a growing number of these vehicles being advertised for sale, this large SUV is proving popular with family buyers transitioning from diesel and petrol models.
The Lexus IS300h is the second most viewed hybrid car for sale on the site in 2019, while the Toyota Prius rounds out the top three.
