EV registrations double in May as Irish car market grows 4.7%

Michael McAleer

Electrified vehicles – hybrids, PHEVs and full EVs – now account for almost two-thirds of all new car sales in Ireland, with electric vehicle registrations doubling in May. Combined EV, hybrid and plug-in hybrid sales now account for 65.7 per cent of all new car registrations.

New car sales are up 4.7 per cent on last year, with 83,038 newly registered cars on our roads in the first five months.

May sales were particularly strong, up 38.6 per cent with 10,087 registrations, driven in part by a doubling of electric car sales to 2,335 during the month, according to figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).

The strong May performance comes ahead of the traditionally busier July registration period and the upcoming 262 registration plate.

Hybrids remain the dominant choice for Irish buyers, accounting for 28 per cent of registrations this year. EVs are now the second-largest segment at 23 per cent, ahead of petrol cars on 21.4 per cent. Plug-in hybrids account for 14.7 per cent of sales, while diesel has fallen to 12.9 per cent.

Benefiting from the popularity of hybrid cars, Toyota remains the best-selling new car brand with 14 per cent market share, ahead of Volkswagen with 11.3 per cent, Skoda with 9.85 per cent and Hyundai with 8.7 per cent.

Toyota’s Yaris Cross is also the best-selling new car model with 2,738 registrations so far this year, ahead of the Hyundai Tucson with 2,509.

Chinese manufacturers continue to gain ground, although they still represent only 5.5 per cent of the Irish new car market, underlining the continued dominance of established European, Japanese and Korean brands.

Of the 19,050 EVs sold this year, Volkswagen is the best-selling brand with 2,464 and also claims the best-selling EV with its ID.4 model. Hyundai is second with 2,168 registrations, one car ahead of Kia. Skoda holds fourth place with 1,463 EV registrations, followed by BYD with 1,363.

In contrast to the growing popularity of EVs for private buyers, the rental market remains heavily dependent on petrol cars.

Car hire accounts for 11 per cent of total new car registrations, with petrol models accounting for 47 per cent of the 9,245 car hire registrations this year, followed by hybrids with 28 per cent and diesel with 18 per cent. Just 31 new EVs have been registered to the hire drive fleet so far this year.

In the commercial sector, registrations of light commercial vehicles – vans and pick-ups – are up 15 per cent at 20,410. Ford holds the market lead with a 19.25 per cent share, followed by Volkswagen with 15.7 per cent and Renault with 14.8 per cent.

However, the truck (HGV) market is down 4.3 per cent on last year, with 1,457 registrations up to the end of May.