EVs charge ahead as new car registrations catch up on last year

Official 222 new vehicle registration figures for September released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that new car registrations so far this year are up slightly (0.7%) on the same period last year.

In Mayo, the increase this year compared to last year is much greater at 6.69% (1,867 units compared to 1,750 units).

Nationally, September 2022 registrations are up 42.5% (6,340) when compared to September 2021 (4,449).

Registrations year to date, at 101,492, are 10.9% behind that of pre-Covid levels (113,945).

Light commercial vehicle (LCV) registrations are up 6.5% (1,756) compared to September last year (1,649) and year to date are down 20.5% (20,974), while heavy goods vehicle (HGV) registrations are down 12.4% (197) in comparison to September 2021 (225). Year to date, HGVs are down 6.3% (2,120).

Used car imports for September (4,344) have seen a decrease of 12.4% on September 2021 (4,952). Year to date, imports are down 26.8% (37,418) on 2021 (51,138).

For the month of September, 1,858 new electric vehicles were registered compared to 770 in September 2021. So far this year, 14,513 new electric cars have been registered in comparison to 7,819 on the same period 2021 – an increase of 85.6%.

Electric vehicle, plug-in hybrids and hybrids continue to increase their market share, with a combined market share now of 40.76%. Petrol continues to remain dominant at 30.09%, ahead of diesel (26.99%), hybrid (19.67%), electric (14.30%) and plug-in electric hybrid (6.79%).

Commenting on the new vehicle registrations, Brian Cooke, SIMI director general, said: “New vehicle registrations, hampered by global supply issues, continue to remain challenging. New car sales year to date, while strong in September and breaching the 100,000 barrier for the year, are only marginally ahead of last year and are 11% behind 2019 (pre-Covid levels).

“Sales of commercial vehicles, both light (LCVs) and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), also remain subdued.

“On a more positive note, electric vehicle sales continue to power ahead, with over 14,500 new EVs sold this year, up 86% on last year, with EVs accounting for 29% of new car sales in the month of September. This strong performance of the EV market is down to increased supply from vehicle manufacturers, particularly in the family segment, and the vital support of the SEAI grant scheme.

“The early budget, with no VRT increases and the extension of the EV grants for the first half of next year, provides some stability in what is highly volatile retail environment, and will hopefully encourage car buyers into dealerships for the vital selling period between now and the end of the year.”

The five top selling car brands year to date are: Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Kia and Skoda. The five top selling models are: Hyundai Tucson, Toyota Corolla, Kia Sportage, Toyota C-HR, Toyota RAV4.

The top selling car in September was the Tesla Model 3. The top five new EVs year to date are: Volkswagen ID.4, Hyundai Ionic 5, Tesla Model 3, Kia EV6, Volkswagen ID.3.