New car sales fall 5.9% in July while EV sales are down 25% so far this year

Michael McAleer

Sales of new 242-registration cars in July were down 5.9 per cent on the same month last year, pushing the new car market for the year to date into decline.

A total of 25,726 new cars were registered last month, bringing the total sales the year to date to 104,652.

However, much of the focus of the motor trade is on the severe drop in new electric vehicle (EV) sales, which are down 25 per cent so far this year, falling back to sales levels last seen in 2022. A total of 13,885 new EVs have been registered, representing a market share of 13.2 per cent, compared to 17.6 per cent this time last year.

In contrast, the shares of regular petrol, diesel and hybrids have increased. Petrol engines now make up 32% of the new car market, followed by diesel with 23 per cent, hybrids with 22 per cent and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) with 10 per cent.

The best-selling brand for new cars is Toyota, recording 15,508 registrations so far this year, followed by Volkswagen with 11,758, Skoda with 10,461, Hyundai with 10,024 and Kia with 7,551. The best-selling premium car brand is Audi with 4,588 registrations, ahead of BMW with 3,968 and Mercedes-Benz with 2,703.

Audi is now outselling several big-name mainstream rivals such as Nissan, Peugeot, Ford, Dacia and Renault.

Brian Cooke, Director General of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) said: "The key headline for July continues to be the drop in Electric Vehicle (EV) registrations, which are down by 25% year to date. EV sales are now back to 2022 levels. Last year saw several EV incentives reduced, including the SEAI Purchase and Home Charger Grants, while Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) for company EVs is scheduled to increase significantly in 2025.

"We are at a critical juncture on the journey to Zero Emission Vehicles, but we need decisive actions in the Budget to arrest this slide and to reignite Ireland's EV momentum. This can be done by extending the BIK incentive at current levels, and increasing the SEAI Grants back to 2022 levels until the EV market recovers. Budget 2025 is a real chance for Government to signal their commitment to fleet electrification and is an opportunity they should grasp."

In the commercial vehicle market, traditionally a bellwether for national economic activity, the Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) market is up 11.7 per cent so far this year, with 25,239 registrations, while sales of heavy goods vehicles are up 19.5% at 2,298.