When my children were younger and in the back of our car, they played a game spotting different-coloured car licence plates. Shouting out black reg, yellow reg or red reg, the rarer the colour the better, to get one over on a sibling who hadn’t seen it first. Those coloured plates are less common today, but I now find myself scanning other cars in a similar way, looking out for a small green flash on the licence plate telling me it’s an electric vehicle (EV).

The concept was already well established in the UK and China when it was introduced here a year ago. We started on a voluntary basis because the Revenue Commissioners did not want to pass the primary legislation that would have been needed to make it mandatory.

A year on, it would seem that some dealers are better than others when it comes to encouraging customers to go for this green mark. I’m particularly surprised when I see so many new Volkswagen electric cars without one, given that company’s recent history in undermining vehicle emissions standards.

The great thing is, however, that the vast majority of new owners do seem to be taking it up. The green band is so small you’d hardly see it at first – but once spotted, you don’t forget it. They are popping up everywhere as electric vehicles have become the most popular type of car to........

© The Irish Times