Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 26 September 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Impact on Carbon Budgets of Trend Towards Heavier and Larger Vehicles: Discussion

Mr. Apostolos Petropoulos:

The point that only rich people are buying SUVs is not really true. Approximately one out of two cars bought in Europe today are SUVs. That means that a vast majority of people are buying SUVs and particularly heavier cars and, therefore, this has to be done as a specific exercise - in Ireland's case, for example, depending on how one defines how much of the population will be affected. Dr. Mock spoke about range. It is true if people are long-distance drivers that currently some of the battery's capability will not cover their needs but the majority of people do not drive that far. Therefore, already with the current technology, most car drivers can use an electric vehicle.

Let us imagine in the future that there will be the roll-out of infrastructure plus battery chemistry development. We will have a portfolio of technology to electrify in almost all cases. We have also seen swappable technology popping up in China and some other Asian markets where people change their batteries in certain places to provide the additional range that is needed to cover mobility needs.