Much of that is down to the slow pace of rolling out the national charging network, but equally, Irish EV buyers are worried about the potential for battery unreliability. It might be about to become rarer still, certainly if CATL is right about its new ‘5C’ battery pack. CATL, or to give it its full name; the Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Limited, is one of China’s biggest, and therefore one of the world’s biggest, EV battery makers. That 2.3 per cent figure is higher than the 1.8 per cent that GeoTab last measured in 2024. Given the average Irish national annual mileage of 16,000km, that equates to 106 years of continuous driving and fast-charging.

Source: The Irish Times February 18, 2026 14:27 UTC