New car registrations for 2022 remain stagnant despite 81% rise in electric vehicles

Electric vehicles, plug-ins and hybrids now represent over 41% of the Irish car market

While petrol and diesel car registrations struggle to reach pre-pandemic levels, electric vehicle registrations has seen exponential growth, rising by over 355% since 2019.

New car registrations this year grew by just 0.3% compared to 2021, a difference of just over 300 cars. That is despite a 81% year-on-year increase in electric vehicle registrations, with 15,678 new plug-in, hybrid and EVs being registered in 2022.

Releasing their end of year statistics, the Society of Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) found that while this year's figures marginally exceeded 2021 figures, they still fell over 10% behind pre-Covid levels.