A drop in new electric cars has been branded 'alarming' by a transport consultant.

Sales of new electric cars are down 14.2% in the first three months compared to last year, despite the overall new car market growing by 8%.

It comes amid ongoing criticism of a lack of charging points around the country.

Transport Consultant Conor Faughnan told The Pat Kenny Show the drop-off is surprising.

"EV (Electric Vehicle) sales are down overall in the context when overall car sales are up," he said.

"General sales in the first quarter of 2024 [are] up by around 8%, but the EV - and specifically the pure battery electric vehicle - the market share for that has dropped by about 14%.

"That's a little alarming and you wonder what's causing that."

'Better than it was'

Conor said criticism of the charging network for EVs is not as justified as it used to be.

"I think it's fairer to say that while we still have a long way to go on the charging network, it is genuinely a lot better than it was," he said.

"There's a Facebook group for EVs owners... and a lot of them are feeding back that they're getting used to it, it's much better than it used to be.

"The charging network on motorways for example is pretty good - on the M6, M7 - there are some relative desserts that the EV owners know.

"The M1 can be difficult, the M8 can be difficult but it's getting better".

An electric car is seen charging in February 2015. Image: Michael Flippo / Alamy

Conor said destination charging is also picking up, such as charging points at hotels and car parks.

"It's not as difficult as it used to be and you're not as reliant on the public network," he said.

"The vast bulk of people will charge at home most of the time but it's still deficient.

"At the moment it still requires a degree of intrepidity to take your EV off cross-country.

"That is probably one of the barriers that's mitigating against the sales".

'Over-promise and under-deliver'

Conor said manufacturer claims about range are often not the same as real-world driving.

"They're doing with EV range claims what they did with miles per gallon back in the '70s," he said.

"They'd run an engine on a bench and give you a theoretical story that never matched up to real-world experience.

"If they over-promise and under-deliver it rather frustrates the owner".

Conor said perks being withdrawn, such as reduced tolls for EVs, have also not helped.

He added that the country won't be "within an ass's roar" of an original Government target of almost one million battery EVs by 2030.

Main image: Transport Consultant Conor Faughnan speaking on The Pat Kenny Show, 3-4-24. Image: Newstalk