'Quiet' November sees car sales slump to five-year low

Electric car sales also saw a marked reduction, falling more than 30% compared to last year, new figures show

SIMI director Brian Cooke said despite November being a 'quiet month', year-to-date new-car sales remain 3% ahead of 2024, with a total of 124,680 new cars registered.

In a “quiet month” for car sales, new registrations dropped in November to their lowest levels in five years, with electric cars also seeing a marked reduction, falling more than 30% compared to last year, the latest figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) shows.

Last month, the motor sales sector saw just 838 new-car registrations, a drop of 25.2% compared to the same month last year, when 1,211 new cars were registered. It is also the lowest level of new-car registrations during November since 2019 when 761 were recorded.

The drop-off in electric car sales was even more significant. Last month, there were 348 new battery electric cars registered — 31.9% lower than November 2024.

The last few months of the year are often quite slow months for the motor sales sector as customers often hold off on purchases until the start of the new year.

While new-car registrations took a hit during the month, other categories saw significant increases. The number of imported used cars registered for the first time rose 28.4% during the month, to 6,373.

Light commercial vehicles registrations increased by 94.9%, to 1,035, while heavy goods vehicle registrations are up 16.6% to 112.

While new-car registrations are down during November, they are still trending higher than they were last year.

SIMI director general Brian Cooke said despite November being a “quiet month”, year-to-date new car sales remain 3% ahead of 2024, with a total of 124,680 new cars registered.

“To the end of November, 23,431 battery electric vehicles have been registered, a 37% increase on the same period last year. This growth in new battery electric vehicles registrations has been reflected in every county this year,” he said.

“In fact, in 2025, we have now surpassed the previous record year of 2023 for battery electric vehicles registrations.” 

In the new-car market share by engine type for 2025, petrol cars continue as the new-car market leader at 25.14%, followed by hybrid petrol-electric at 22.51%, electric at 18.79%, diesel at 17.1%, and plug-in electric hybrid at 14.84%.

The Tesla Model Y was the best-selling car overall during November.