Sales (or at least registrations - not the same thing necessarily) of new cars in Ireland have climbed dramatically in February, with a 25 per cent increase, to 16,455 registrations, compared to February last year. Overall, for the year so far, new car registrations have climbed by 18.3 per cent compared to 2023, with 47,822 new cars registered.
Electric car sales falter
However, electric car registrations have stagnated. For the year to date, 5,968 new EVs have been registered, representing a 1.4 per cent rise on the same period last year, well below the general performance of the car market. For February specifically, electric car sales actually fell by 15.5 per cent compared to February last year. That is in spite of the generally greater availability of new electric models and the arrival of some significantly more affordable cars in that segment. Clearly, the vast majority of Irish car buyers are still not convinced that electric power is the right solution for them.
Hybrid power seems to be the preferred solution for many, with hybrid and plug-in hybrid models taking a combined 29.2 per cent of the market so far in 2024, compared to 12.4 per cent for fully electric models. Petrol power still dominates, with 32.9 per cent of the market, with diesel on 23.7 per cent - a two per cent rise in diesel's market share. Similar figures showing a swing away from fully-electric models and back towards petrol and diesel cars have been seen in the UK and US in recent months. It seems to indicate that consumers are unconvinced that the necessary infrastructure is in place to support electric car buyers, not to mention worries about the disastrous depreciation figures being seen for EVs.
Slow-down not unique to Ireland
Brian Cooke, director general of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, which compiles these sales figures, said: "New car registrations for February show a 25 per cent increase on the same month last year, and year to date are now 18 per cent ahead of 2023. Supply chain issues prevalent at the start of 2023 are no longer impacting on sales. Registrations of light commercial vehicles also show a positive start to the year, up over a third on last year. Electric vehicle (EVs) registrations are down on February last year and are only marginally ahead of the first two months of 2023. This slowing down in EV sales is not unique to Ireland and is reflective of other new car markets. It is typical of the life cycle in the adaption of any new technology, where there is a gap between early adapters and the early majority consumers. This is happening at a time when we need to accelerate the growth in EV sales. The electrification of the car fleet is strategically important. It will cut transport emissions and shape the future of the Motor Industry. To speed up the move to EVs in the wider motoring public, the Industry and Government must keep working together. For the Industry, this means the rolling out of more EV models. For Government, it means extending incentives and investing in the national charging infrastructure."
Toyota and Hyundai top the charts
So far this year, Toyota remains on top of the Irish market, followed by Skoda putting in a very strong second-place performance. Behind those two are Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Kia rounding out the top-five.
The Hyundai Tucson is the best-selling individual model, as it has been almost constantly since 2016, followed by the Kia Sportage, Skoda Octavia, Toyota RAV4, and Toyota Yaris Cross.
Volkswagen still holds the top spot in the troubled electric car market, followed by Hyundai, BYD, Kia, and MG. The Hyundai Kona is the best-selling electric car so far this year, followed by the Volkswagen ID.4, the MG 4, the BYD Seal, and the Volkswagen ID.3.
The individual best-sellers for February were the Skoda Octavia for the overall market (and that in spite of the introduction of a heavily revised model later this year) and the Tesla Model 3 for the EV market.
Sales of vans have held up well, with 3,515 being registered in February, a 36.8 per cent increase on February 2023, while sales for the year to date have risen by 35.6 per cent. Imports of second hand cars, primarily from the UK, have also risen considerably, with a 24 per cent rise in February, and a 32 per cent increase for the year to date, with 10,270 used imports so far. This is possibly a sign that the UK's VAT reclaim scheme is improving the value proposition for used imports.