New figures released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry show 1,725 new electric vehicles were registered during the month of May - more than double the number registered in May 2022 (743 ).
There have also been 12,875 new EVs registered so far this year, up almost 56 per cent (8,258 ) on the same period last year. However, that still accounts for just 17 per cent of overall Irish new car registrations.
The latest figures from SIMI also show new car registrations for May were up 42.7 per cent (7,557 ) when compared to May 2022 (5,295 ).
Registrations for the year-to-date are up 18.2 per cent (74,542 ) on the same period last year (63,057 ), according to SIMI.
Imported used cars have seen an almost 15 per cent (4,486 ) increase in May 2023, when compared to May 2022 (3,905 ). For the year-to-date, imports are up 5.2 per cent (20,797 ) on the previous year (19,766 ).
Electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hybrids continue to increase with a combined market share (for the year to date ) now of 42.74 per cent.
Petrol engines remains dominant at 32.36 per cent, with diesel engined cars accounting for 22.17 per cent. Hybrids are at 17.51 per cent, with all-electric cars in fourth place accounting for 17.27 per cent, and plug-in electric hybrid models at 7.96 per cent.
Latest 2023 car stats:
Top five selling passenger car brands so far in 2023:
1. Toyota; 2. Volkswagen; 3. Hyundai; 4. Skoda; 5. Kia.
Top five selling car models so far in 2023:
1. Hyundai Tucson; 2. Kia Sportage; 3. Toyota Corolla; 4. Toyota Yaris Cross; 5. Volkswagen ID.4.
Top 5 selling EV brands so far in 2023:
1. Volkswagen, 2. Hyundai, 3. Tesla, 4. Kia, 5. BMW.
Top five selling EV models so far in 2023:
1. Volkswagen ID.4; 2. Hyundai Ioniq 5; 3. Tesla Model Y; 4. Skoda Enyaq; 5. Kia EV6.
Top selling car (May ):
Toyota Corolla.
Top selling EV (May ):
Volkswagen ID.4.
Vantastic Performance
Light commercial vehicle (LCV )/van sales are up a massive 76.2 per cent (2,528 ) compared to May last year (1,435 ), and for the year-to-date are up 31.1 per cent (16,255 ).
Ford still leads the way, well out in front with four models in the top 10 sellers.
Renault are the big winners in second place, with the Master van topping the sales charts for the year to date. Renault also has the Trafic van in fifth place. Toyota’s Land Cruiser Commercial is driving their numbers, amazingly, the third best selling LCV for the year to date.
Latest 2023 van stats:
Top 5 selling LCV/ van brands so far in 2023:
1. Ford; 2. Renault; 3. Toyota Hyundai; 4. Volkswagen; 5. Opel.
Top 5 selling van models so far in 2023:
1. Renault Master; 2. Ford Transit; 3. Toyota Land Cruiser Commercial; 4. Ford Transit Custom; 5. Renault Trafic.
Keep on truckin'
Heavy goods vehicle (HGV )/Commercial Vehicle (CV ) registrations are also showing an increase of 11.9 per cent (217 ) in comparison to May 2022 (194 ).
For the year-to-date this segment is also up 35.6 per cent (1,424 ).
As with the very vibrant van sales, the truck sales increases are seen as another real world indicator of the strong Irish economy.
