The Government recently announced a new ICE2EV Electric Vehicle (EV) Scrappage Scheme to encourage rural drivers to change from petrol and diesel engine cars to battery electric cars (EVs). The scheme is funded to the tune of €10m, of which €6.5m is allocated to new BEV buyers living in rural areas outside of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford and Limerick – these locations will be based on Central Statistics Office Census 2022 definitions.

The scrappage grant provides an additional €5,000 discount off the price of the new car, which means that it will fund the purchase of 2,000 new BEVs. Applications open on 1 July, and funding will be allocated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on a first-come, first-served basis, making early application important.

So how does it work?

While the initiative claims that the grant is an additional €8,500 funding towards the price of a new electric car – that is €5,000 scrappage allowance, on top of the existing €3,500 SEAI grant – you will find that most electric cars have been priced at a figure that includes the SEAI grant, so in reality it is an additional €5,000 grant, not a new €8,500 grant.

In order to qualify for the grant, you must be trading in a petrol or diesel car, not a hybrid or another electric car or commercial van or 4x4, that is 13 years old or older, which you must have owned for the past 12 months, and which must be taxed, insured, and NCT-valid, or have its NCT certificate expired by no more than six months. You must also have the vehicle log-book for the transaction. The name on the logbook must match the applicant for a new EV and must prove ownership for at least 12 months prior to application.

Off-road 4x4’s such as the fully electric Suzuki e-Vitara with a longer range 61kWh battery, will be eligible to qualify under the ICE2EV Scheme.

The scheme is only available for passenger cars, called M1 private passenger vehicles, within the motor industry. Small commercial vehicles, such as commercial 4x4s or small vans, which are used on many farms are not eligible for the scheme.

Cars priced at up to €60,000 may qualify once the applications have been approved before 31 July at 6pm. From 1 August 2026, the maximum new car price is €50,000 before grant.

This will exclude many family cars from the scheme, while some distributors may offer further incentives to get prices under their €50,000 figure in order to qualify for the €5,000 grant.

Nissan and Renault are already offering a further discount to get more cars eligible for the and expect others to follow in advance of the scheme application opening date of 1 July, 2026.

Applications for the scheme are managed directly by SEAI through authorised car dealers. Interested individuals should contact SEAI-registered dealers to start the process and the grant is then secured by the car dealer at the point of sale.

If you already have an EV in the household, you can apply for the grant for a second EV.

You can apply for the separate Electric Vehicle Home Charger Grant even if you do not own an electric vehicle.

What do I do next?

Go to your electric car (EV) dealer because it is the car dealer who applies for this grant on behalf of you the customer. Firstly, check with them that their dealership is authorised by SEAI to offer the scheme.

Next, select the car of your choice remembering the €50,000 price ceiling. Almost all car brands now offer the EV choices so there will be plenty to choose from.

The EV dealer will deduct the scrappage amount and the relevant grant from the cost of the new private EV. SEAI will reimburse the EV dealer for the deducted amount. Vehicles can only be scrapped by a registered EV dealer. The dealer must handle the scrappage process on your behalf.

The availability of the grant and scrappage grant is only confirmed once your dealer applies for the grant and gets a letter of offer from SEAI. If scrappage funding runs out before your application get approval, the scrappage grant cannot be guaranteed. The standard EV grant of €3,500 can still be applied for if the scheme funding runs out.

When selecting the EV car of your choice be conscious of delivery delays if the car is not in stock at the dealership as the grant offer expires four months from date of the SEAI letter of grant offer.

What your EV dealer must do

Grant applications by the dealer on your behalf must be submitted online as normal via the existing SEAI EV grant portal. The additional information that is required for the application includes, Eircode and the registration details of the vehicle to be scrapped.

The car dealer must ensure the vehicle being scrapped is eligible for scrappage and must deduct grant + scrappage (€8,500) from the invoice. This deduction must clearly be shown as “SEAI Grant and Scrappage”.

There will be additional documents required to be uploaded to the system with the invoice and transaction document. These include motor tax certificate, insurance and NCT, discs, logbook. The scrappage vehicle must not be destroyed before the letter of offer is issued by SEAI.

Used cars such as a 2103 registration Skoda Octavia diesel will still be worth more than the €5,000 scrappage scheme allowance against a new EV.

Is the scheme worth it?

For some farming families it will be debatable if the ICE2EV Electric Vehicle (EV) Scrappage Scheme will be really worth it. This will depend on the condition of the car that they are trading in to be scrapped and also on its value to them and lastly, whether it is worth more than the €5,000 scrappage offer.

We have looked at seven popular diesel engine cars for rural drivers and examined their relative values. We looked at prices from a popular Irish car sales website for these different-brand 2013-registered diesel vehicles to assess whether they were worth more or less than the €5,000 scrappage value being offered under the scheme.

The table shows that cars that were in good condition and with relatively low kilometre numbers on their odometers, were seen to worth significantly more than the scrappage offer of €5,000. It is important to note however, that these are typically dealer sales prices, not the actual trade-in value that the dealer has put on the car when buying it from the customer as part of a new car sale.

This highlights why it is a good idea to get a trade-in value for your car outside of the ICE2EV Electric Vehicle (EV) Scrappage Scheme firsts and then if your car is worth less than €5,000, the scheme will be worth considering.

Larger cars priced at up to €60,000, such as the new Toyota Bz Touring, may qualify once the applications have been approved before 31 July at 6pm. From 1 August 2026, the maximum new car price will be €50,000 before grant.

Why are 4x4s not included?

Most 4x4s used on farms are considered to be commercial vehicles and as such are not included in the ICE2EV Electric Vehicle (EV) Scrappage Scheme. There are some battery-powered 4x4 available with 4x4 off-road capability, but they have limited range and significantly lower towing abilities than t heir diesel engine counterparts.

Some EVs come with dual electric motors, one electric motor drives the front wheels, while the second drives the rear wheels. This gives a form of four-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive, but these are not off-road 4x4 vehicles for which there is a more limited supply.

There are very limited 4x4 cars available with the type of towing power that’s needed by Irish farming families. And those with any level of towing power, over 2,000kg, are very expensive, costing much more than €60,000 and therefore will not qualify for support under the ICE2EV Electric Vehicle (EV) Scrappage Scheme. These include the Kia EV9 GT Line, BMW iX versions and Volvo EX90.

The other reality is that towing really impacts an EV’s range – sometimes dramatically. Heavy loads (2,000 kg and above) will mean a drop of up to 50% in range. For medium loads (1,000-1,800 kg) expect a 30–40% drop in range, and remember this includes the weight of the trailer.

A small number of reasonably capable dual-motor, all-wheel-drive (AWD) electric passenger vehicles are now available in Ireland. They come with reasonable off-road capability, good ground clearance, and some advanced traction modes.

These include the KGM Torres EVX (1,500kg towing); another fully electric SUV with 174mm of ground clearance and designed to tackle rougher rural terrain.

Subaru’s Solterra (1,200kg towing) with a permanent All-Wheel Drive system, dual electric motors, an off-road “Grip Control” mode, and 210mm of ground clearance, is another option.

The new Suzuki e-Vitara (750kg towing) features the ALLGRIP-e dual-motor 4-wheel drive system and a dedicated TRAIL mode that brakes spinning wheels and redirects torque to the tyres with traction and has 185mm ground clearance, qualifies under the scrappage scheme.

Volvo’s EX90 (2,200kg towing) Cross Country versions use a dual-motor AWD system that provides heavy-duty traction for light off-road environments. With the high entry price, this car does not qualify under the scheme.

High speed public car charging can be expensive, upwards of €0.58/kWh, giving top-up charges of more than €35 from a low battery and should be reserved just for those longer journeys.