The Car Rental Council of Ireland (CRCI) has called on Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien to consider the significant implications that an EU-led proposal to impose mandatory EV purchases on the Irish car rental fleet would have on the rental sector, a move that it says will damage not just the car rental industry but regional tourism in Ireland.
The European Commission is currently working on a regulatory proposal (‘Clean Corporate Vehicles’), set to be published later this year, which will consider imposing an accelerated purchase mandate on commercial fleets that would lead to fleets across Europe being obliged to purchase a rising number of EVs annually, reaching 100% of purchases in 2030.
According to the Car Rental Council, this will force car rental companies into offering electric cars to customers who do not yet want them, thereby resulting in many unused cars, significant commercial losses, as well as reduced numbers of overseas tourists travelling to regional Ireland.
Peter Boland, Chief Executive of the Council, said the Irish car rental industry recognises that the EU is working towards a 2035 deadline for the transition to zero emission cars and the industry is working with all the relevant state agencies to align with that deadline. He further highlighted that Ireland’s “Green Island” image, regional tourism spread, manageable distances and high-value visitor profile make it well positioned as an e-tourism destination.
According to the CRCI, visitors to Ireland are reluctant to rent fully electric cars, with utilisation rates for EVs, i.e. the percentage of time a vehicle is actively rented out, as low as 24% compared with the 80% required for vehicles to break even. In order to overcome this customer resistance, the CRCI believe that several enabling conditions need to be in place.
Firstly, charging infrastructure remains a major barrier, with limited coverage in remote regions and constrained grid capacity at Dublin Airport, where 83% of Irish car rentals originate. The Council warned that comprehensive infrastructure suitable for tourists will not be in place by 2030.
Secondly, the Council also point to the higher total cost of ownership for battery EVs, which the European Commission has recognised is much higher than internal combustion vehicles. In 2024, the average EV rental cost 33% more than its petrol or diesel equivalent due to higher purchase prices, faster depreciation, and increased maintenance, repair and insurance costs. The EC has urged EU Member States to make zero-emission vehicles more attractive through fiscal policy including incentives. The Member States with the fastest rate of BEV adoption, such as Belgium, have all used the same basic framework of incentives; none have used BEV purchase mandates.
“The imposition of mandatory EV purchases will not accelerate enabling conditions or increase customer demand,” Mr Boland said. “Instead, a purchase mandate would cause severe damage to the rental sector, resulting in slower not accelerated access to e-rentals in Ireland. Given the reliance of the tourism sector on the car rental sector, particularly outside of Dublin, these measures would have hugely damaging knock-on effects across the economy.
He continued by saying: “We urge the Government, and specifically the Minister for Transport, to ensure that the car rental sector is protected to reflect the current market realities related to utilisation, consumer demand and market volatility. We also call on the Minister to ensure that any EU-wide proposal on corporate fleets adequately reflects the specific market conditions of each Member State and focuses on much needed incentives and enabling conditions rather than the setting of targets. The rental sector will continue to work closely with the Government and other stakeholders to accelerate positive enabling conditions to encourage the rollout of BEVs across the fleet.”
This call for action from the Minister has been echoed by leading representatives from the tourism sector.
Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, said: “Rental cars are an essential element of Irish tourism infrastructure with over half of all the overseas tourists who visit regional Ireland using them5. They are a vital means of accessing the whole island and support regional tourism in a way that is socially and economically sustainable. Any move that will hamper the operation of the car rental fleet will have serious negative consequences for Irish tourism and must be resisted by our government.”
