The Irish Car rental industry has given a cautious welcome to European Automotive Package proposals.
The package includes mandatory zero and low-emission targets for fleets from 2030. The council has called for a focus on infrastructure and affordability. Representatives have urged exclusion of rental cars from mandates. The sector is highlighting tourist resistance to battery electric vehicles.
Peter Boland, Chief Executive of the Car Rental Council of Ireland shared “The Automotive Package appears to recognise the need for pragmatic flexibility in the rolling out of zero and low-emission vehicles by fleets. We need to further analyse the detail of the proposals, but what is clear is that it is vital for the Irish car rental industry, and the broader Irish regional tourism industry, that the Irish Government does not hit car rentals with a premature zero-emission mandate, essentially a battery EV (BEV) mandate.”
Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation shared “Rental cars are an essential element of Irish tourism infrastructure with over half of all the overseas tourists who visit regional Ireland using them. They are a vital means of accessing the whole island and support regional tourism in a way that is socially and economically sustainable. Any move that will hamper the operation of the car rental fleet will have serious negative consequences for Irish tourism and must be resisted by our government.”
