Nissan CEO James McCarthy has called on Transport, Tourism and Sport Minister, Shane Ross to clarify the details new 0% BIK initiative.

Nissan has stated that the Government’s new initiative to introduce a 0% rate of BIK to promote the sale of electric vehicles (EVs) is doomed to fail if it only applies to the first year that someone owns an EV.

Nissan – which is the largest seller of EVs in Ireland – has called on the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, T.D. to clarify the detail of the new Government initiative as a matter of urgency.

“The initiative needs to apply for an EV ownership cycle of at least three years if it is to stand any chance of success,” said James McCarthy, CEO of Nissan.

“We are delighted that the Government is willing to take a progressive approach to electro mobility but we need to be assured that this initiative is not just window-dressing and that it has been fully thought through,” he added.

“We require Minister Ross to clarify the term for which BIK will apply. It is of no value to motorists if it only applies for one year as they will be signing up to BIK costs for the subsequent years that they own the car,” said Mr. McCarthy.

“Anyone who does not buy an EV in January 2018 will also lose out on the full year value of the 0% rate of BIK,” he continued.

Mr. McCarthy stated that Nissan urgently needed clarity to determine the size of the order it needed to place with its manufacturing plant and associated delivery schedules in order to ensure that it has EVs available for anyone who wants to buy one as a direct result of the Government initiative.