Mayo new car registration increase is above national average
Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) official 251 new vehicle registration statistics for Q1 show that Mayo is bettering the national average.
Registrations year to date nationwide are up 4% (64,824) on the same period last year (62,498), but the percentage change in Mayo is 6.8% for the first three months of the year, with 1,163 vehicles registered thus far in 2025 compared to 1,089 in up to the end of March last year.
On a nationwide basis, new car registrations for March were up 18.4% (17,345) when compared to March 2024 (14,644). Light commercial vehicles declined by 10.2% (3,940) compared to March last year (4,388) and year to date are down 13% (13,352), while registrations of heavy goods vehicle are down 21.2% (275) in comparison to March 2024 (349) and year to date are down 6% (1,037).
Imported Used Cars have seen a 11% (5,790) rise in March 2025 when compared to March 2024 (5,217). Year to date, imports are up 9.7% (16,991) on 2024 (15,488).
Last month, 2,544 new electric cars were registered, which was 29% higher than the 1,980 registrations in March 2024. So far this year, 9,978 new electric cars have been registered, representing a 25.8% increase compared to the same period in 2024 when 7,929 electric cars were registered.
Petrol cars continue to lead the new car market at 27.85%, followed by hybrid (petrol-electric) at 24.28%, diesel at 16.73%, electric at 15.39%, and plug-in electric hybrid at 14.14%.
Commenting on the figures, Brian Cooke, SIMI director general, said: “Buoyed by a strong performance in March, the first quarter of the year has seen new car registrations increase by 4% when compared to Q1 2024. Electric vehicle sales have rebounded since the start of the year, growing by 29% in March to a total of 2,544 units, while year to date they stand at 9,978 units, capturing 15% of the market.
“In addition to the positive news on EVs, the market performance has been driven by an increase in the sales of hybrid cars, which when combined with EVs account for 55% of the market.
“On the other hand, light commercial vehicle registrations have seen another month of decline, with a 13% decrease in sales last quarter, and heavy goods vehicle registrations are down 6% year to date. This decline in commercial registrations highlights the current uncertain economic climate.”
The five top selling new car brands so far this year are Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Skoda and Kia. The five top new car models up to this point in 2025 are Hyundai Tucson, Toyota Yaris Cross, Toyota RAV4, Kia Sportage and Skoda Octavia.