New car sales down; Toyota remains best seller locally

New car registrations for February were down 12.2 per cent (12,031) when compared to February 2021 (13,698), according to figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).

Registrations year to date are down 4.6 per cent (37,058) on the same period last year (38,838).

Light commercial vehicles (LCV) are down 30.9 per cent (2,292) compared to February last year (3,316) and year to date are 12.0 per cent (7,341).

HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) registrations are up 7.56 per cent (242) in comparison to February 2021 (225).

Year to date HGV figure are up 2.14 per cent (574).

Used car imports for February (3,807) have seen a decrease of 33.9 per cent on February 2021 (5,758).

Year to date imports are down 37.6 per cent (7,848) on 2021 (12,579).

For the month of February 1,620 new electric vehicles were registered compared to 805 in February 2021.

So far this year 4,320 new electric cars have been registered in comparison to 1,782 in the same period of 2021.

Electric vehicle and plug-in hybrids and Hybrids continue to increase their market share, and now have a combined 44 per cent.

There is a large decrease in market share for internal combustion engine vehicles, but petrol remains dominant at 27.39 per cent, and diesel accounts for 25.92 per cent.

Hybrid are on 24.23 per cent, electric vehicles are 11.66 per cent and plug-in electric hybrid vehicles are on 8.01 per cent.

Brian Cooke, SIMI director general, said: “Despite strong demand for new and used cars, supply continues to be a major issue, and any potential recovery is unlikely to happen until the second half of 2022 at the earliest.

“Despite the challenge, the number of new electric cars continues to grow and registrations doubled for February, when compared with the same month last year.

“There are now over 50,000 electric vehicles (combined EV and PHEV) on Irish roads, and there is increasing consumer interest for them.

“As highlighted in the recently issued report on reducing light fleet carbon emissions, commissioned by SIMI, it is essential that the charging infrastructure keeps pace with the acceleration in the electrification of the Irish car fleet.

“In that context, ongoing support from government in the charging network is vital if we are to convince more consumers that an electric vehicle is a viable choice of car for their driving needs.”