Over 25,000 New Cars Registered in January, significant growth for electric and hybrid vehicles.

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), today (February 1st 2022) released the official 221 new vehicle registration figures for January.

New cars registrations for the month of January are down slightly -0.2% (25,093) when compared to January 2021 (25,140). Light Commercial vehicles (LCV) are up slightly 0.7% (5,055) compared to January last year (5,022). HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) registrations are also showing a small decrease of 1.5% (332) in comparison to January 2021 (337). 

Used car imports experienced a 40.8% (4,041) decrease in January when compared with January 2021 (6,821).

New electric car registrations reached their highest month on record with 2,714 registered in January 2022 (+178%), compared to 977 January 2021. 

Battery technology cars have seen the greatest increase in market share for January, accounting for over 46% of the new car market. There was a significant increase in growth for hybrid (26.5%), plug-in hybrid (8.4%) and electric (10.8%) market share. Despite a large decrease in market share for internal combustion engine type vehicles, petrol is now dominant (28.6%), while Diesel declined to (22.4%).

Automatic transmissions (57.1%) have increased their market share for January overtaking manual transmissions (42.8%) in popularity for the first time.

Commenting on the new vehicle registrations SIMI Brian Cooke Director General said: 
“New car registrations in January are in line with last year. Sales are still 22% behind pre-pandemic levels (2019), largely due to supply chain issues arising from various lock-downs. With retailers reporting strong order banks and with expected improvements in supply as the year progresses, this should lead to both an improving new car market and a more even spread of sales in 2022. Also the trade-ins against January new car sales will have increased supply of used car stock, which means greater variety and volume for interested used car buyers in the weeks ahead.

On a positive note, electric cars accounted for 11% of the new car market, an increase of 178% on last year. The 2,714 new Electric Vehicles (EVs) on the road in January equate to EV sales for the whole of Quarter 1 last year. The increasing appetite for electric, plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and hybrid vehicles has seen cars with battery technology accounting for over 46% of new car sales during the month. It is anticipated that the strong growth in EV sales will continue for the rest of 2022. In this environment it is essential that Government supports the expansion of a national charging infrastructure to keep pace with this demand for EVs. In addition, the grant and taxation incentives must be extended if we are to secure a greater supply of EVs for Ireland and to encourage more consumers to choose low and zero-emitting vehicles.” 

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2022 Total New Vehicle Stats. 

• New Car sales total January (2022) 25,093 v (2021) 25,140 -0.2% 

• New Car sales total January (2022) 25,093 v (2019) 32,370 -22.5% 

• Light Commercial Vehicles sales total January (2022) 5,055 v (2021) 5,022 +0.7%

• Light Commercial Vehicles sales total January (2022) 5,055 v (2019) 5,548 -8.9%

• Heavy Goods Vehicle total sales January (2022) 332 v (2021) 337 -1.5%

• Heavy Goods Vehicle total sales January (2022) 332 v (2019) 354 -6.2%

• Used Car Imports total January (2022) 4,041 v (2021) 6,821 -40.8%

• Used Car Imports total January (2022) 4,041 v (2019) 9,003 -55.1%

• New Electric Vehicles sales total year to date (2022) 2,714 v (2021) 977 +178%

• New Electric Vehicles sales total year to date (2022) 2,714 v (2019) 799 +239.67%

• 10 Top Selling Car Brands January 2022 were: 1. Toyota, 2. Hyundai, 3. Volkswagen, 4. Skoda, 5. KIA,  6. Nissan, 7. Ford, 8. Renault, 9. Peugeot, 10. BMW    

• 10 Top car model’s year January 2022 were 1. Hyundai Tucson, 2.Toyota Corolla, 3.Toyota RAV 4, 4.Toyota C-HR, 5.Toyota Yaris, 6. Nissan Qashqai, 7.Hyundai Kona, 8.Toyota Yaris Cross, 9. Skoda Octavia, 10. Ford Puma

• Top Selling Car January 2022: Hyundai Tucson

• 2022 % Share of Cars by Transmission Type: Automatic 57.1% Manual 42.8%

• Top Selling Car Body Type January 2022: Hatchback

• Market share by engine type 2022: Diesel 22.5%, Petrol 28.6%, Electric 10.8%, Plug-In Hybrid 8.4% and Hybrid 26.5%,

• Table below shows new car registrations by county for January 2022. Click here to download pdf (also attached).