New electric car sales drop for fourth month in a row

Just over 1,000 new electric cars were sold here in May, down over 39% on the same month last year.

This is the fourth month in a row that new EV sales have dropped.

New figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that just over 10,000 new EVs have been registered across the country so far this year, down almost 22% on the same period in 2023.

Petrol cars continue to lead the new car market, with a share of over 33%, followed by diesel at 23%, hybrid (petrol electric) at around 20%, electric at just under 13% and plug in electric hybrid at just under 9%.

“The EV share of the market now stands at 13%, which is down from 17% on last year, and is in line with 2022 market share,” said Brian Cooke, Director General of SIMI.

“With the private consumer being the driver of EV sales in Ireland, we need to re-focus our efforts on these buyers; they need greater reassurances on their EV investment, which includes as a minimum the extension of current incentives and delivery on an electric charging infrastructure.

“We also need to encourage the company car market, where Ireland has been lagging behind other markets, and delay the phasing out of the BIK concession until such time as EVs become firmly established,” he added.

David Savage, Geotab Vice President, EMEA said the situation in Ireland with regards to EV sales is “outside the norm”.

“Last month Ireland recorded the second biggest year-on-year fall in EV sales across the EU27, with a decline of 41.6%,” he said.

“In contrast, France and Belgium saw significant increases of 45.2% and 41.6%.

“This just goes to show that it is within the Government’s gift to put EV sales back on a positive trajectory when the right combination of incentives, infrastructure and policy is in place,” he added.

Overall, just over 6,400 new cars were registered in May, down 15% on the same month last year.

So far this year, 77,453 new cars were registered, up 3.8% on the same period in 2023.

“While sales of light commercial vehicles decreased by 22% in May, registrations for light and heavy commercial vehicles remain strong so far this year,” Mr Cooke said.

Today’s data shows that Toyota has been the top selling new car brand so far this year, followed by Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai and Kia.

The top new car model was the Hyundai Tucson, followed by the Skoda Octavia, the Kia Sportage, the Toyota RAV 4 and the Toyota Yaris Cross.

Volkswagen was the top selling new EV brand, followed by Tesla, Hyundai, BYD and Kia.

The Volkswagen ID.4 was the top selling EV model, followed by the Tesla Model Y, the Hyundai Kona, the Tesla Model 3 and the MG MG4.

Today’s data shows that imported used cars increased by almost 23% in May, when compared to the same month last year.

Meanwhile, so far this year, imports are up 26% on the same period in 2023.