Blog Archives - Jensen Fleet Solutions

Benefit in Kind – Whats new for 2025?

December 10, 2024/in Blog/by Jensen Fleet Solutions

Benefit in Kind (BIK) tax applies to employees who receive non-cash benefits from their employer, such as a company car. The tax is calculated based on the value of the benefit provided. In the case of company cars, the BIK rate is influenced by factors such as the car’s emissions (CO2 emissions) and its market value.

Finance Bill 2024 included an extension to the temporary measures previously introduced. Please find details below:

1) The amount of business mileage and CO2 emission category

Lower Level	Upper Level	A	B	C	D	E
Km	Km	%	%	%	%	%
—	26,000	22.5	26.25	30	33.75	37.5
26,001	39,000	18	21	24	27	30
39,001	48,000	13.5	15.75	18	20.25	22.5
48,001	—	9	10.5	12	13.5	15

2) The CO2 emission category of the car is as per the following table.

Vehicle Category	CO2 Emissions (CO2 g/Km)
A	0g/Km up to and including 59g/Km
B	More than 59g/Km up to and including 99g/Km
C	More than 99g/Km up to and including 139g/Km
D	More than 139g/Km up to and including 179g/Km
E	More than 179g/Km

Example
An employee has the use of a car provided by his or her employer on January 1, 2025. The OMV of the car is €55,000. With the new measures introduced in 2023 continuing into 2025, the OMV will reduce by €10,000 to €45,000.

Per the manufacturer, the car produces 79g/km in CO₂ emissions. The actual business kilometres in the year were 47,000 kilometres. 79g/km in CO₂ emissions puts the car in vehicle Category B.

As the employee drove 47,000 kilometres in the year, the cash equivalent is equal to the OMV x 15.75%.
BIK Calculation: Cash Equivalent (OMV less €10,000) €45,000 x 15.75% = €7,088

The reduction of €10,000 will save this employee €1,575 in the tax year.

Electric Vehicles
For an electric vehicle made available for an employee’s private use during 2025, the cash equivalent will be calculated based on the actual original market value (OMV) of the vehicle reduced by:

€35,000 in respect of vehicles made available in the 2025 year of assessment (OMV can be reduced by €10,000)
€20,000 in respect of vehicles made available in the 2026 year of assessment.
€10,000 in respect of vehicles made available in the 2027 year of assessment.

If the reduction reduces the OMV to Nil, a BIK charge will not arise. Any portion of OMV remaining, after the reduction is applied, is chargeable to benefit-in-kind at the prescribed rates.

Home chargers
A BIK exemption will apply from 1 January 2025 to the provision of electric vehicle chargers at the home of a director or an employee. For the provision to apply the director or the employee must have private use of an employer-provided electric vehicle. Also to remember, a director or employee can be reimbursed for the charging costs of the vehicle free of tax (on the condition that the employer retains supporting documents)

Records
Employers are required to maintain records of the kilometres travelled by each employee. This should be maintained on a weekly / monthly basis to calculate the BIK to be reported on a real time basis via the weekly/monthly payroll returns. Revenue have advised that employers should review this regularly (at least quarterly) to ensure the BIK recorded to Revenue is as accurate as possible.

Company Vans
From 2023 onwards the cash equivalent on company vans increased from 5% to 8% of the OMV. With the new measures in place from 2023, the OMV can be reduced by €10,000.

Exemptions from BIK on Vans
Your employee will not pay tax on the benefit of an employer-provided van where:

you provide your employee with the van for work purposes, and they must bring it home afterwards.
your employee is not allowed to use the van for private travel apart from travelling to and from work.
and
your employee spends at least 80% of their working day away from your work premises.

For more information on the vehicles, we can provide please contact Jensen Fleet Solutions on 01-4605250 or info@jensenfleet.ie

Practical tips for choosing your Fleet

September 17, 2024/in Blog/by Jensen Fleet Solutions

Negotiating lease terms can be a crucial part of getting the best deal for your business. At Jensen Fleet we have put together some practical tips to help you secure the best terms for your business.

Assess your business needs.

Purpose of the vehicle, determine what use the vehicle will have during its lifecycle.

Research the vehicle you require, does it fit all the criteria you had laid out before you started the search. Are there any extras you require that are not standard and can they be added to the vehicle.

Understand your needs.

A big one to pay attention to is mileage per annum, as this figure is used in all calculations, and contributes to providing you with the best monthly figure. There is no point downplaying this figure and incurring penalties at the end of the contact. We would say at Jensen Fleet that this is the most crucial factor to consider.

A knock-on effect to mileage is term. If you are low mileage driver you may look to take a vehicle out on a 48-month lease, whereby a higher mileage driver may be better to consider the 36-month option. Manufacturer warranty is also one to consider here, the term of the lease may be longer in some cases than the warranty provided by the manufacturer.

Focus on the total cost.

While monthly payments are important, also consider the overall cost of the lease, including any extra charges, over mileage charges. It is also important to know what the upfront payments are. Industry standard is three upfront payments on all lease deals.

Service provided with the Lease.

The lease of the vehicle is the straightforward part of any agreement. A bigger thing to consider is the service provided. The knock-on effect of vehicles of the road can be detrimental to any business. A good service provider can arrange replacement vehicles, can fight for warranty claims, and can be there at the end of the phone to help. The service and maintenance of the contact is of the upmost importance to keeping a happy healthy relationship throughout the contract.

Brand, Model & Leasing Company

Look into the various brands and models that fit your criteria, consider reliability ratings, and brand reputation for warranty & service issues. Leasing companies, investigate which company aligns with your needs. What do you require from a partner, do you see a long-term relationship forming with the leasing provider.

By being well prepared and informed, you can negotiate lease terms that align with your needs and budget, ensuring you get the best all round deal possible.

For any questions on the above, or to enquire about leasing please call Jensen Fleet Solutions on 01-4605250 or contact us here.

Something Fancy for the Weekend – The BMW i5 eDrive

August 22, 2024/in Blog/by Jensen Fleet Solutions

We here at Jensen Fleet have had some demo’s lately in house to try. The first one up if you fancy something nice for the weekend is the BMW i5 eDrive.

Here’s how we got on:

First up was the BMW i5 eDrive 40 M Sport Pro Touring finished in Phytonic Blue Metallic Paint.

First things first, this is an extremely attractive car which drew many an admiring glance when out on the road. I was even accosted by a gentleman asking about it whilst in the local supermarket car park. He had purchased the BMW i4 last year and we compared notes for a few minutes.

This i5 Touring is a refreshing change from the SUV body style which has been so popular in recent years. It’s a large car that ticks so many boxes, Refined, Comfortable, Spacious, Technology.

Granted there is a large price tag, and it may not fit into a lot of people’s budgets but for a car in this category, it’s a winner amongst its peers.

Sitting into the cabin, you are immediately drawn to the curved digital infotainment screens and the heads-up display which is easily configurable. As is the norm with most manufacturers in recent years, all controls can be accessed through the central screen. Thankfully, the main temperature and heated seat controls are a permanent fixture in the lower corners which allows quick and easy access saving the need to scan through multiple different screens just to make a minor change.

The car was fully charged when we first got the keys and a range of just under 500km was showing as available. The first day’s usage included some motorway driving mixed with urban traffic and average consumption of 18.4kWh / 100km was achieved. Different Drive modes were available which influenced the available range with the Economy mode offering a Range Extension function that gave information on how to eek out more Kms from the battery. The range went from 280km to 420km when activated. The opposite to this was the Boost paddle which engages a ten second countdown timer on the screen whilst deploying all available hp and torque to propel the car at full pelt with the BMW Iconic Sounds Electric soundtracking the experience.

Each Drive Mode gave the car its own Mood / Style with the Screens and Ambient Lighting reflecting each variant.

The important numbers on this car are:

81.2kWh usable battery

WLTP Range 560km

Max Power 340hp

Max Charging Speeds 205kw DC / 7.4 -22kWh AC.

Boot space 570 litres and 1700 litres with the rear seats folded down.

Pricing from €85,985. Test Car Price €96,570.

This car included options such as Bowers & Wilkins Surround Sound System, Technology Pack, Comfort Pack and Sun Protection Glass leaving a Total Retail Price of €103,734.

If you are interested in leasing an electric vehicle, please contact us in Jensen Fleet on 01-4605250 or info@jensenfleet.ie

Electric Options for Leasing in 2024

January 31, 2024/in Blog/by Jensen Fleet Solutions

As another year rolls around the options in the electric vehicle market continue to grow and grow. We have seen how the Tesla Model 3 and VW ID4 have impacted the market in such positive ways and really helped the switch to electric motor on.

This year we see a new competitor with BYD accelerating into Irish soil for the first time. BYD have just become the biggest electric car company in the world, and we are curious to see how the get on in Ireland. We will also look at the newest releases from Cupra & Kia below.

BYD Seal

It is hard to say anything other than the Seal is BYD direct attempt to push the Tesla Model 3 from its perch. The exterior has a remarkably similar look to that of the Model 3. Where they differ is in the battery set up. BYD were primarily a battery company and have taken this expertise and built their vehicles around the LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery. This battery contains fewer rare earth materials. BYD unlike most competitors designs and implements its own blade batteries to their vehicles. They also give upwards of an 8-year warranty on these batteries.

The exterior boasts double u-floating LED headlights along with “ripple” daytime running lights themed on the ocean waves, these coupled with the coupe like silhouette make the Seal a very aesthetically pleasing vehicle. The interior has a very luxurious feel with vegan leather throughout and the ocean blue cabin makes an interesting alternative to Thaumas black. The seal comes complete with a large panoramic sunroof and a 15.6 rotatable touchscreen console.

The Seal offers four drive modes, from ECO, Normal, Sport and Snow mode. The BYD seal is available in a RWD allowing capacity for 570Km’s or AWD (four-wheel drive) hitting 520Km’s. At Jensen Fleet we will be interested to see how the BYD sells in Ireland in 2024 & can it come into the market and gain a significant share. We believe the BYD will range in price from €46,000 – €55,000.

Cupra Tavascan
We are huge fans of the Cupra Born here at Jensen Fleet, so we are excited to see the newest release from the Cupra stable, the Tavascan. Cupra seems to have the best-looking mid-range EV in the VW group range and the Tavascan is going to follow along these lines. At the front, the pointy headlights have similar design to the Born, with LED headlights and funky daytime running lights which give the vehicle a sporty design. The Tavascan will be a coupe SUV like the VW ID5. It has the flush door fittings & sleek exterior lines that are designed for performance and efficiency.

The interior of the Tavascan has been designed to meet the drivers needs, it features 3D leather seats, 15” touchscreen with a new designed human friendly interface. The Tavascan will come with contrasting colours diffused by LED ambient lighting providing the occupants a calm space within the powerful machine. Additional features include Dynamic Chassis Control Sport technology, sports suspension, and progressive steering.

The CUPRA Tavascan EV is available in one EV battery size: 82 kWh (77 kWh net). The lithium-ion EV battery has a claimed range up 547 km (WLTP) & will come with an RWD & 4WD option with the ability to DC charge 0 to 100km in 7 minutes.

The CUPRA Tavascan EV is packed with technology to include a suite of advanced assisted driving systems: predictive adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, intelligent speed adaptation, side assist, lane assist, exit warning & fatigue detection.

We are looking forward to this one and hope to have them available for lease towards the end of the year. In the meantime, the Cupra Born is in stock and available for lease.

Kia EV9

From the Kia brand they are bringing us the EV9 a 6 & 7 seat EV, coming in an Earth & GT Line spec. This may be Kia’s most expensive vehicle ever but its looking like it could make a bang on the Irish market. This three-row vehicle is the first true Jumbo EV to hit the market.

For the exterior it boasts Cude LED headlights, Z shaped daytime running lights along with flush door handles, unique two-tone alloy wheels, twin panoramic sunroofs & eye-catching wheel covers this EV9 is sure to make a statement at every turn.

The interior of the Six seat EV9 comes with swivel seats in the second row, so you can switch around to interact and relax on your journey. The three rows of seats do not seem to impact the boot space too much with 333 litre space in the rear. The EV9 also comes with a triple panorama display to include a 12”3 touch interface.

With a high voltage 99.8 kWH battery pack the EV9 can hit 249Km charge in just 15 minutes with a maximum distance of 563Km from a single charge. We have seen in the past how Kia has committed to a sustainable future by using recycled materials across their ranges and the EV9 is no different. From reused plastic bottles for the trim, to fish nets for the carpets right through to tactile vegan leather on the seats.

The EV9 comes with upgraded Lane assist, blind & forward collision avoidance assist along with smart parking assist to really up the standard in safety.

The EV9 comes in two specs, the Earth model starts from €77,500 and the GT model which goes up to €85,500. Kia also boast the extremely popular EV6, which is proving to be a great lease vehicle for Jensen Fleet.

To get more information or to arrange a quote for your company, contact Jensen Fleet on 01-4605250 or info@jensenfleet.ie

Calculating BIK for Company Cars 2023

December 31, 2023/in Blog/by Jensen Fleet Solutions

BIK Changes from 2023

At Jensen Fleet we aim to make managing your company fleet easier. This handy guide will help you to calculate the BIK due from each employee on their company car.

From January 2023 the way we charge BIK to company cars is changing. The new system will be based on the CO2 emission from each vehicle and the business mileage completed. The new minimum BIK rate after discounts will increase to 9%, and the maximum rate will be 37.50%

Temporary Changes to the BIK System for 2023

On the 7^th of March 2023 the government announced temporary changes to the new BIK system they had put in place from January 2023. These measures are temporary and will run to December 2023 & will be backdated to January 2023.

The main changes after the 7^th of March are as follows:

1) A relief of €10,000 to be applied to the Original Market Value (OMV) of cars in the C02 Categories A-D.

2) The €10,000 relief will also apply to vans and Electric Vehicles. For EV’s this means the total relief allowed is now €45,000

3) Vehicles which fall into CO2 category E will not get any relief.

4) The threshold for highest mileage band is being reduced by 4,000km from 52,001Km to 48,001km. This means that employees who travel high amounts of mileage will enter the lowest rate of BIK earlier.

Please find details below:

The amount of business mileage and CO2 emission category

Lower Level	Upper Level	A	B	C	D	E
Kilometres	Kilometres	%	%	%	%	%
—	26,000	22.5	26.25	30	33.75	37.5
26,001	39,000	18	21	24	27	30
39,001	48,000	13.5	15.75	18	20.25	22.5
48,001	—	9	10.5	12	13.5	15

The CO2 emission category of the car is as per the following table.

Vehicle Category	CO2 Emissions (CO2 g/Km)
A	0g/Km up to and including 59g/Km
B	More than 59g/Km up to and including 99g/Km
C	More than 99g/Km up to and including 139g/Km
D	More than 139g/Km up to and including 179g/Km
E	More than 179g/Km

Example

An employee has the use of a car provided by his or her employer on January 1, 2023. The OMV of the car is €55,000. With the new temporary measures applied, the OMV will reduced by €10,000 to €45,000.

Per the manufacturer, the car produces 79g/km in CO₂ emissions. The actual business kilometres in the year were 47,000 kilometres. 79g/km in CO₂ emissions puts the car in vehicle Category B.

As the employee drove 47,000 kilometres in the year, the cash equivalent is equal to the OMV x 15.75%

BIK Calculation: Cash Equivalent (OMV less €10,000) €45,000 x 15.75% = €7,088

The temporary measure of the reduction of €10,000 will save this employee €1,575 in the tax year.

Records

Employers, are required to maintain records of the kilometres travelled by each employee. This should be maintained on a weekly / monthly basis to calculate the BIK to be reported on a real time basis via the weekly/monthly payroll returns. Revenue have advised that employers should review this regularly (at least quarterly) to ensure the BIK recorded to Revenue is as accurate as possible.

Company Vans from 1^st January 2023

From 2023 onwards the cash equivalent on company vans will increase from 5% to 8% of the OMV. With the temporary measure in place the OMV can be reduced by €10,000.

Electric Vehicles

For an electric vehicle made available for an employee’s private use during the years 2023 – 2025, the cash equivalent will be calculated based on the actual original market value (OMV) of the vehicle reduced by:

€35,000 in respect of vehicles made available in the 2023 year of assessment (OMV can be reduced by €10,000)
€20,000 in respect of vehicles made available in the 2024 year of assessment
€10,000 in respect of vehicles made available in the 2025 year of assessment

If the reduction reduces the OMV to Nil, a BIK charge will not arise. Any portion of OMV remaining, after the reduction is applied, is chargeable to benefit-in-kind at the prescribed rates.

Payroll Implications

As these changes will be backdated to the 01.01.23 there be a one off adjustment to BIK in the next payroll cycle.

For more information on the vehicles, we can provide please contact Jensen Fleet Solutions on 01-4605250 or info@jensenfleet.ie

What’s Hot for 2024?

November 29, 2023/in Blog/by Jensen Fleet Solutions

As we are all aware of at this stage, supply issues have impacted our business greatly over the past 24 months. However, as 2023 went on, Jensen Fleet are happy to report that these have eased considerably in the second half of the year allowing us to look forward to 2024.

With this in mind, we are going to look at what we feel will be hot in 2024. Starting on the EV side of things. Telsa have recently launched a facelift model of the Model 3. Already its most popular model, the changes will bring this vehicle even closer to the top of the charts. On the outside, this facelift features new designs to the bumper & bonnet along with newly designed headlights giving the car a smoother, sleeker look. The exterior also has new look rear lights along with 2 new colours available.

One feature that we are eager to try out is the new location of the Gear selector. This is now accessed via the Main Screen instead of the traditional stalk behind the Steering wheel. The indicators have also been relocated and are now buttons on the Steering Wheel itself.

Probably the best bit of news about the new Model 3, is the Long-Range Dual Motor All Wheel Drive version, gives you a WLTP Range of 629km. Another bit of great news on the new Tesla Model 3 is lead times are very low, with a selection of stock already available and new orders usually able to be fulfilled within 3 months.

2024 will also see the comeback of the car van, with the Kia Ceed Hatchback available as a 2-seat commercial van in the K2 spec mhev diesel engine. The Kia Ceed car derived vans lets drivers sit into a car like vehicle instead of a panel van but still have the ability to carry tools & stock and benefit from being on the commercial rate for BIK purposes.

Continuing the commercial side, Ford have announced the availability of the all-new Ford Transit Courier. This new Courier comes with a choice of engines to include Petrol, Diesel and in Late 2024, a Fully Electric model, which we are very excited to see. The Diesel model will launch in a 1.5 engine 100ps 6 speed transmission.

Jensen Fleet Solutions have preordered a number of these Ford Transit Courier in the Trend spec due to arrive early in 2024. The Trend spec includes Heated Drivers Seat and Steering Wheel, Sliding Side Door, Air Conditioning, Rear Parking Sensors, and Cruise Control. All in all, these will be a nice comfortable van to drive and extremely good value in the small van segment.

If you would like to discuss these vehicles or any others for 2024, please contact Jensen Fleet on 01-4605250 or email info@jensenfleet.ie

Top Cars 2023

October 24, 2023/in Blog/by Jensen Fleet Solutions

As 2023 is concluding, we thought we would set out the best buys for 2023. As the switch to electric gathers pace, the electric market is now counting for 18% of new sales in 2023, Petrol remains the bestselling engine in Ireland with a 15% increase in sales over 2022.

Vehicle sales are growing with an increase YTD of over 15,000 units. The big boys remaining steadily at the top of the charts. Volkswagen, Toyota & Hyundai remain strong and accounting for a good 35% of the market share.

In the electric market we see the Volkswagen ID4 as the standout vehicle in its field. We a range from WLTP range of 353-525Km per charge and a sleek design and drive, the ID4 has gone from strength to strength over the past couple of years.

Telsa has recently announced some upgrades to the Model 3, most importantly of all is the new WLTP range up to 629Km’s. The increased range should mean strong Tesla numbers into 2024.

The Petrol/Hybrid markets is another segment that is continuing to grow, with sales year to date up 40% on 2022. The best-selling Petrol/Hybrid comes from Toyota with the Corolla and Rav4 performing well in 2023 although down a bit year to date in comparison to 2022.

On the commercial side, we have seen a steady increase in sales in 2023 with Renault especially seeing an increase in their sales figures. The Renault Master van has surpassed all the Ford options in 2023 on the sales front with a 115% increase in sales in 2023. The electric van markets are slow to gather pace but 2023 has seen a 138% increase in sales. This is an interesting area to keep an eye on over the next 12-18 months as more and more vans come online. Will the range be good enough to compete with the diesel engines, we will have to wait and see.

All statistics come from https://stats.beepbeep.ie/

For any leasing needs in 2024, contact us on 01-4605250 or info@jensenfleet.ie

Jensen Fleet Sponsors car for Niamh Fahey

September 26, 2023/in Blog/by Jensen Fleet Solutions

We are delighted to announce our sponsorship of Niamh Fahey, Irish International with over 100 Caps & Liverpool Captain!

Best of Luck to Niamh in her new Jensen Fleet Solutions Ltd car & best of Luck to the Irish WNT team tonight in Budapest!

Long Term Rental vs Leasing

August 3, 2023/in Blog/by Jensen Fleet Solutions

Whats the best option?

Here at Jensen Fleet, we appreciate that your business has unique needs. With that in mind, we will look at the differences between leasing and rental in the longer term.

Both options offer low upfront payments, leasing, would be three months payment upfront and these are used as a deposit with the three final months been non-chargeable. On rental, Jensen Fleets policy is one month upfront and one month held on file to be refunded at the end of the contract.

Leasing is a finance agreement through a finance house with a set term and mileage whereby rental is a month-to-month contract that allows the business full scope to hand back the vehicles when they are finished with them. We find the rental works great in the below situations:

New employees on probation periods
Seasonal and busy periods
Lead in vehicles
Change vehicle type as required.
No long-term commitment

On the other hand, leasing would be more suitable if employees are looking to stay in the same vehicle for the whole term. Typically lease agreement cover 36 to 48 months.

The cost of a lease vehicle would be significantly lower than rental, however, this is due to the longer hire period, better interest rates and the increased resale values of lease vehicles.

Both agreements would cover routine maintenance with the monthly rental figure including the maintenance, whereby the lease contract would have a separate maintenance figure per month. Maintenance on both contracts would cover routine servicing, Road Tax. DOE/NCT & tyres.

Leasing allows the customer and the driver more freedom to select any car/van they require. They can request colour, spec, kit out & can include extras such as panelling or signwriting. Rental on the other hand the customer would only have the options of what is available at that specific time. Just to remember, At Jensen Fleet we do have a wide and varied fleet of rental cars and vans on our rental division.

Both contracts offer great benefits to our customers and a in a lot of cases a customer starting as a rental customer can progress to a lease customer once the see the many benefits of dealing with Jensen Fleet.

For more information & to see what suits your business best, contact us on info@jensenfleet.ie or visit jensenfleet.ie

My Electric Irish Adventure

June 22, 2023/in Blog/by Jensen Fleet Solutions

As the big switch to electric cars takes hold, a common question from customers when contemplating the switch relates to range and availability of charger points throughout Ireland. I decided to take my electric vehicle on the road around Ireland for a week to put this to the test.

We headed off as a family of four with a full charge from the home charger providing a range of 350 Km’s. Range increases in the hotter weather, so doing the same journey on a cold, wet January may come with quite different results.

Ahead of departure from Dublin and destined for Harvey Point, just outside Donegal Town a full 224 Km’s away, a call to the hotel is made to see if they had charging facilities available on site.

First bit of good news, six chargers available on the grounds so with that in mind we decided to head straight to Donegal with no stops (hoping a 2- & 5-year-old might sleep some of the way).

When we arrived in Donegal, after 3 hours of baby shark and no sleep, I was delighted to see none of the chargers were in use. I was here for 2 days and appeared to be the only electric car there, demonstrating that we still have a long way to go with the switch to electric cars being the norm.

Electric Ireland provided the chargers, I was required to set up a new account before plugging in the car. This first leg had left us with a range of 170 Km’s. 54km saved on the battery using cruise control and adhering to speed limits, using 38.2 kWh in total.

Getting the charging underway went well, however it was a bit tricky to remove the cable on the charger unit. The charge was complete and showed a full battery and I was not able to hit stop charge with seem to confuse the machine. After 5/6 attempts we were finally able to disconnect. A 53% battery charge here, giving me just under 200km came in at a cost of €25.48 & took just over 4 hours to get back to 100%. The KM showing as available when the battery is full does vary depending on driving style, the roads travelled and how laden the car is.

A scenic drive around beautiful Donegal covering another 100km and some fantastic views enjoyed.

Planning, I decide to top up the battery again as the next stopover was Eniscrone in Sligo and following some research, I discovered there were no charge points in the area.

The aim being a full battery would get me through to Bundoran via Sligo Town, a journey of 124Km and allowing the ability to tip out and about to explore the area for another 2 days and then get us through to our next base.

A small charge here achieved an increase of 22% battery & 68km, cost €10.62 and 1.5 hours to complete. The weather was fantastic with the sunshining bright for the few days around Sligo, this gave us plenty of beach time so not much driving was required.

Our last destination was to Cavan and to Cabu by the Lakes. Again, I phoned ahead to find out if charging facilities were available on site and discover that they have only the one charge point.

We left Sligo with the battery showing a range of 266Km and with a journey of 152Km ahead, range anxiety was low. However, one charger for twenty-eight cabins was a little bit of a worry.

Happy to report that the charger was not in use when we arrived, Phew!!!

This charger was a little simpler to use and powered by Clenergy EV. You simply scan the QR code to open the app, put in the charger code and happily no account set up was needed & you could select to continue as guest user allowing the car to charge. On this one, it did take multiple attempts to plug in, plug out, before the charging finally began.

A 45% charge providing 141km and costing €23.89, took 3.5 hours to complete. With there being only one charge point available and not wanting to hog it, we unplugged just in case any other guests needed to plug in.

We stayed in Cabu for a couple of days with little or no more driving taking place.

Our final charge was again in Cabu before we undertook the 142Km journey home to Dublin. A 30% charge adding 102Km to give us a full battery again & costing €17.89, took 2.5 hours to complete.

Again, multiple plugging in and out was required before charging began. Whilst a tad frustrating, it would have been far more annoying if this were the case in the middle of a rainy, windy winters day. We were fortunate on this trip that we were basking in a balmy sunny weather the entire time.

Homeward bound and baby shark at the ready as the chances of the 2- & 5-year-old having a nap are slim and none.

My overriding feeling on the switch to electric cars and the infrastructure within Ireland is positive. This journey did require a fair amount of planning but hotels 100% seem to be getting on board with the need to provide access to charging facilities for guests.

However, I feel more locations such as service stations, restaurants, shopping centres to name a few need to be encouraged to provide charge points. Specially to provide fast chargers which will help reduce the range anxiety felt by drivers. We do see charge points being installed in service stations, but this does need to happen quicker.

The other slight negative is the amount of apps or cards that you need to register with to access the different charge points, some even require topping up with credit before you use them. For the company car driver covering a large area or anyone with a decent commute, this could prove quite frustrating but if you frequent the same places, this becomes less of an issue.

A single app or card allowing access to all charge points would be fantastic however with so many different providers of these, this is very unlikely to happen.

Home now and plugged into the home charger for a top up so I can get back into the office as this current Electric Irish Adventure has reached its end.

If you are interest in leasing an electric vehicle, you can contact Jensen Fleet on 01-4605250 or info@jensenfleet.ie