Fleets in Northern Ireland are significantly ramping up their electric vehicle take-up, new figures from mobility and connectivity specialist Radius indicate.

Image credit: Radius

The company, which has leasing and EV charging solution divisions, says that 80% of its car orders in Northern Ireland are now for battery electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles.

That’s a fourfold increase from just 18% in 2019 and shows a massive shift towards sustainable transportation, with demand split equally between BEVs and PHEVs.

Radius said the change highlights the increasing commitment of Northern Ireland businesses to combat climate change and improve air quality.

It also reflects the firm’s work to support businesses transitioning to EV; Radius recently announced a £10m investment into its EV division and says it’s the only provider across the whole of Ireland to offer an end-to-end solution for EVs. This spans everything from assessing EV readiness and providing vehicles, to installing charge points and delivering charge cards, working with a range of well-known partners. It says it’s able to get businesses up and running with their EV solutions within 14 days.

Radius also provides 100% renewable and EV specific electricity tariffs, fully supporting businesses through the complex energy transition.

Paul McGuire, managing director Northern Ireland at Radius Vehicle Solutions, said: “The fact that the majority of car orders are now for [fully] electric or hybrid vehicles clearly demonstrates the growing awareness surrounding sustainable business practices and the benefits of having EVs. By leasing a vehicle, businesses can make the transition to an electric fleet without the initial upfront investment, making it easier to switch.”

However, research published by the National Franchised Dealers Association’s Northern Ireland Division this month indicates that fleets in Northern Ireland need more support on public charging to help them switch to EVs.

It’s written to Ministers and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), drawing attention to the “dire” EV charging network in the country and calling for urgent support and investment.

While the UK had a total of 37,055 charge points as of 31 January 2023, only 366 or 1% were located in Northern Ireland, according to the NFDA. For comparison, Scotland has 3,915, Wales 1,657 and Greater London 12,817.

It says that for NI to have a proportional share of public charge points, the country would need to build approximately 8,000 chargers by 2030, at a rate of over 1,000 charge points annually. However, data taken from DfT official charging device statistics indicates only a net increase of 21 public charge points between January 2022 and January 2023, showing that the current installation rate stands at only 2% of what it needs to be to reach the 2030 target.

NFDA chief executive Sue Robinson said: “The current NI EV charging infrastructure is old, underperforming and broken in many instances and is disincentivising EV adoption considerably. To combat this, NFDA is calling for cross-party support on this important issue to ensure that developing the charging network is the key priority for the Transport Sector in NI and to put an end to the inertia that is all too common in Northern Ireland’s Public EV Charging projects.”