Budget 2025

With Budget day being upon us, we have stepped through Budget 2025 to capture the most relevant details for the EV space. While we are disappointed that more hasn't been done for private individuals, we do welcome the changes that have come about in the commercial & business space. Any change to incentivise commercial & business users to switch their vehicles to EVs is welcome, & an important one as this area was in need of more support. Private car sales constitute a smaller portion of the total new vehicle sales each year, so this will influence the market in the coming years by increasing the availability of vehicles at the end of leases in the second-hand market. So, don't despair, this is a good step forward in the grand scheme of the EV adoption & transition. So with that, lets outline what has come about in today's budget, & what are the relevant & key points to take away from it. EV specific measures: Extension to 2025 of the €10,000 universal relief on employer provided vehicles, i.e. the first €45,000 (€10,000 + €35,000) of an electric vehicle’s original market value can be disregarded when calculating BIK. Exemption from BIK where an employer incurs an expense in relation to provision of a home charging facility at the home of a director or employee. Change to weight carriage ratio for electric commercial vehicles to enable qualification for the €200 VRT rate; Introduction of an emissions based approach to VRT for category B commercial vehicles, with a lower 8% rate for vehicles whose emissions < 120gCO2/km, &; Continue existing capital vehicle & infrastructure grants; Other indirect measures: Extension of 9% VAT rate on electricity until 30/04/2025; Change to emissions thresholds for certain capital allowances from 01/01/2027. An amount of €24,000 will be available for category A vehicles, whose threshold will be reduced from 0-140gCO2/km to 0-120gCO2/km. An amount of €12,000 will be available for category B vehicles, whose threshold will be reduced from 141-155gCO2/km to 121-140gCO2/km; The rate of carbon tax levied on fossil fuels will increase by €7.50 to €63.50; €250 domestic electric credit (equates to several thousand kilometers worth of home charging), &; €750m funding for electricity grid infrastructure development.