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.

Over 107,100 new cars were registered in 2019, a difference of 11,850 when compared with 2022. While petrol and diesel car registrations struggle to reach pre-pandemic levels, EV registrations have seen exponential growth, rising by over 355% since 2019.

EVs, plug-ins and hybrids now represent over 41% of the Irish car market, with petrol and diesel holding 30.16% and 26.77% respectively.

New Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) registrations in 2022 fell by 17.7% to 23,650, while new Heavy Commercial Vehicle registrations (HGV) saw a decrease of 8.1% compared with 2021 figures.

Both LCV and HGC registrations were down roughly 6% on 2019 figures. Imported used cars saw 46,490 registrations in 2022, a decrease of 26.9% on 2021 figures and 59.2% on 2019 figures.

Automatic transmissions have taken over in popularity, now accounting for 57% of market share, while manual transmissions have declined to just 43%.

In Cork, over 13,000 new cars were registered in 2022, increasing by 5.4% year-on-year, with the county representing 12.4% of last year's market share. 

Limerick saw new car registrations rise moderately year-on-year, increasing by 2.3%. Additionally, both Limerick and Cork saw significant growth in electric vehicle registrations, increasing in both counties by roughly 85% since 2021.

Speaking on this year's figures, Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General said that despite the re-opening of the economy and strong growth, 2022 was a challenging year for the industry, with supply issues heavily impacting new car sales.

On a more positive note, the DG added, "the electric car segment continues to grow strongly with 15,678 new electric cars registered in 2022, an increase of 81% on 2021. Looking forward, retailers are reporting strong new car orders, which will also attract vital trade-ins for the used car market. 

As EV sales skyrocket, Mr Cooke called on the government to support this consumer shift, requesting current EV support grants to be extended and further investment in charging infrastructure. 

He added, "The combination of Government support and industry investment is essential if we want to create an active used EV market in as short a timeframe as possible. We have a huge challenge in reaching emission reduction targets over the next decade and this can only be achieved with the right economic and taxation environment that support the sale of new low and zero emissions vehicles.”