REVEALED: Rise in new car purchases across Ireland

THE LATEST car registration statistics have been announced, with a 16.5% rise in new car sales than that of the same period in 2022.

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has released their official 232 new vehicle registrations statistics for September. 

New car registrations for the month of September were down 10.3%, when compared to September 2022.

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Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General, said that the drop of new car registrations in the month of September is a “concern”.

“While the new car market has shown strong growth so far this year, the drop in new car registrations for September, a 10.3% decrease on the same month last year, is a concern. 

So far this year, 21,707 new electric cars have been registered in comparison to 14,510 (+49.6%) in the same period last year.

In September, the car market share grew, with petrol retaining the largest share at 30.39%, and diesel accounting for 22.18%, Hybrid 18.64%, Electric 18.34%, and Plug-in Electric Hybrid 8.21%.    

Mr Cooke continued: “New electric vehicle registrations declined by nearly a fifth when compared to September 2022, and while some of this is due to changing supply chain dynamics, there is a fear that there could be a softening in Electric Vehicle (EV) growth. 

“With Budget 2024 only a week way, SIMI again calls on the Government to maintain EV incentives at current levels. This includes retention of the 0% Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) thresholds, and extension of both VRT relief and the SEAI purchase grant relief. 

“Now more than ever is the time to invest in the electric vehicle project to ensure that the right measures are implemented to encourage behavioural change as quickly as possible.”