Ennis garage rewarded for promotion of electric vehicles

AN ENNIS dealership has been named as the Clare winner of a new motor industry award for the promotion of electric vehicles.

Western Garages on the Quin Road in the county town is the Banner nominee for the inaugural EV Dealership Awards.

The dealership is now on the shortlist for a national award initiated by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to recognise and reward excellence in the promotion and sales of electric vehicles (EV) in Ireland.

Car dealerships are a vital part of the transition to clean and efficient transport. SEAI wants to recognise and award those dealerships who are working to increase consumers’ understanding and experience of EVs and their uptake on Irish roads.

Commenting on the announcement Declan Meally, Director of Business, Public Sector and Transport at SEAI said, “SEAI recognises that EV car dealerships and their staff are a key set of enablers to EV uptake. I congratulate this year’s winners whose commitment and dedication are hugely inspiring.

“I would also like to thank those Dealerships for supporting the awards in such large numbers. Engaging and supporting EV dealers will help influence Ireland’s transition to EVs. These new SEAI Dealership Awards provide additional incentives and opportunities to build capacity and competence in the supply chain and help to improve the overall public customer experience.”

There were 116 applications across 25 counties. Car dealers competed through a mystery shopping exercise where they were scored on a number of factors including how visible EVs were in the showroom, how knowledgeable their salespeople were on EVs, and their sales approach. Other evaluation areas included EV training, sales trends and the dealership’s website.

The county winners announced are now on the shortlist for the national award which will be announced at this year’s SEAI Energy Show taking place in the RDS, Dublin on March 30 and 31.

For full details on all winning dealerships, visit www.seai.ie.