New car registrations in October were 2.1 per lower compared to October 2021, according to figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), with 2,624 official 222 new vehicle registrations last month.
Registrations for the year to date are still up marginally, by 0.6 per cent, on the same period last year, with a total of 103,425 so far this year. However, that figure is 10.4 per behind the pre-Covid level seen in 2019.
Electric car ownership continues to grow strongly. For the month of October, 741 new electric vehicles (EVs) were registered compared to 519 in October 2021. So far this year 15,241 new electric cars have been registered in comparison to 8,338 in the same period 2021 – an increase of 82.8 per cent.
EVs, plug-in hybrids and hybrids continue to increase their market share and now account for 40.8 per cent of all new car sales.
“With hugely challenging emission-reduction targets over the next decade at both national and EU level, it is vital that EV sales continue to gather pace. In the short term concerns over both increasing energy costs and raw material supply shortages have the potential to slow down the growth in EV sales,” said SIMI director general Brian Cooke.
“In this context it is essential that the industry and Government work closely to create an environment where EVs remain not only a strong environmental choice but also a cost-effective choice for consumers and businesses. This includes targeted Government support in the establishment of a national charging infrastructure, and also the extension of EV purchase incentives beyond 2023.”
By fuel, petrol continues to remain dominant with 30.21 per cent, diesel accounts for 26.86 per cent, hybrid 19.37 per cent, electric 14.65 per cent and plug-in electric hybrid 6.78 per cent.
In October registrations of light commercial vehicles were up 14 per cent year-on-year to 1,448, but for the year to date they are down 18.8 per cent at 22,452.
Heavy goods vehicle registrations are down 11.4 per cent to 187 in comparison to October 2021 and down 6.9 per cent for the year to date at 2,303.
Used car imports for October have fallen 24.2 per cent to 3,336. Year-to-date imports are down 26.6 per cent to 40,753.
