Wait was my plan, erm. Just when grant scheme reopened a couple of weeks ago I had a chat with a colleague/competitor who told me one could buy a Toyota (BZ4X) EV cheaper than the equivalent VW (ID4) model which got me to thinking about changing the motor. In fact, the Toyota is a grand more than the VW (€42,000 -vs- €41,000) but, even after finding that out, something tells me that a Toyota for VW money (give or take) is a pretty good deal.
My current licence expires in January. There's no EV grant option in January - under ESPSV25 you must have your car on the road and old car scrapped (if taking the scrappage) by December 13 2025. If there's an ESPSV26 and it follows all previous ESPSV grant aid schemes it won't open until mid February. The (current) last date of operation for my current vehicle is 20 March 2026 despite it being in showroom condition so allowing for a couple of weeks to process an application I'd be cutting it a bit fine.
Obviously the logic of buying an EV is that we get grant aid so they're €10-20k cheaper than the general public would pay. In my case, taking Revenue's VRT OMSP (inherently prudent) calculation to value my current vehicle I'd be getting €10k for nothing (well, I guess there's no such thing as free lunch, there are T&Cs restricting permissible use of the car and such like) plus €10k for a car valued at €8k so a cost saving of €12k.
A 5yo diesel DSG Octavia with up to c.100,000 kilos on the clock would cost c.€25,000, more than double what my current one cost when it was 3yo back in 2019. A similarly decent Corolla Hybrid would be c.€22,000 source locally. However, I've done some back of envelope calculations that suggest one could import a lower kilometreage one from Japan for c.€18,000 but then one would have to buy new tyres, possibly a new wireless (I don't know if that's still an issue with Jap imports?) and most likely new glass for the back doors as they all seem to come with privacy/tinted glass. A brand new MGS5 comes in at c.€35,000 which equates to €23,000 after grants for me, in real terms. Then one could spend another €6-7k on a more established brand (Toyota or VW) with (presumably) better aftersales service / spare parts availability. I guess the benefit of new over second hand might depend on whether one would realistically expect an EV to last over 7 years.
Supercharges don't interest me a lot other than something to fall back on. My current car has a range of about 800 kilos and I rarely fill it more than once a week so once one gets into the habit of plugging an EV in after every shift range shouldn't be an issue, at least not to the extent of being a deal breaker. I was considering applying for a WAV grant but I'd have less than no interest in school runs. If I wanted that level of commitment I'd either buy a small car and take driving instruction seriously or get a PAYE job... the fact is, at this stage of my life I'm happy enough pottering around doing as little work as possible!
The possibility, however remote, of an age extension for oh16 cars similar to that given to every other year of car on account of COVID is an obvious argument in favour of holding out. Worse case scenario is that I won't get a grant but it's hardly a life changing event, I'd still get a 5 year diesel or hybrid for in around the same money as a new MG would cost and considerably less than an ID4 or BZ4x... Food for thought, I guess.
