Driving green change: Commercial sector adopting electric vehicles in Ireland

When examining pathways to decarbonise transport, one must examine users’ mobility and examine ways to enable them to adapt. Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is incentivised to help reach emission reduction targets; however, existing research predominantly focuses on the private sector. This study analyses data on EV grants for commercial operators and the spatial distribution of commercial industries in Ireland. Results reveal a disparity in EV adoption between the commercial and private sectors. Retail, Professional Activities, Education, and Construction sub-sectors show the highest likelihood of embracing EVs. Spatial heatmaps identify high-density commercial clusters that could be useful for allocating public EV charging stations. The findings underscore the significance of the commercial sector’s transition to EVs towards achieving net-zero targets. Importantly, this study highlights that policies aimed at promoting EV uptake in the commercial sector need to be refined as its requirements are distinct from the private sector.