The market for new cars in Ireland ticked up again in November. Last month, 1,131 new cars were registered, compared to 913 in November 2020 (which makes it a rise of 23.9 per cent) and 761 in November 2019 (a rise of 48.6 per cent). It seems to show that the market for car sales is recovering well, although obviously, that's net of any pressures that new virus variants and potential lockdowns may have in the next few months.
Registrations up by 19 per cent on last year
It means that for the year to date, new car sales are up by 19 per cent compared to 2020, but still down by ten per cent compared to a pre-pandemic 2019. 104,563 new cars have been registered so far this year.
Electric vehicles continue their ever-upward curve - registrations of EVs rose by 117 per cent compared to November 2020, but that still represents a pretty low number overall. 195 new EVs were registered in November, compared to 61 in November 2020. So far this year 8,533 new electric cars have been registered in comparison to 3,928 in the same period 2020. Electric Vehicle, Plug-in Hybrids and Hybrids continue to increase their market share, with their combined market share now over 31.62 per cent. Diesel now accounts for 33.50 per cent, Petrol 32.20 per cent, Hybrid 16.19 per cent, Electric 8.16 per cent and Plug-in Electric Hybrid 7.27 per cent.
Van sales dip slightl
Van sales took a small dip in November - 767 registrations compared to 829 last year, but the overall van market is up for the year to date with 28,424 registrations, compared to 21,431 last year, (+32.6 per cent) and 25,161 in 2019 (+13.0 per cent).
Imports have tailed off considerably. November 2021 saw just 4,445 used imports, compared to 8,645 in November 2020 and 10,008 in November 2019. Year to date used imports are down 10.7 per cent (59,982) on 2020 (67,149) and down 42.3 per cent on 2019 (103,900).
Importance of electric incentives
Commenting Brian Cooke, the Society of the Irish Motor Industry's (SIMI) Director General said: "New car registrations for November were ahead of last year for both the month and year to date, although new car sales continue to remain behind pre-COVID levels. The most positive aspect of the new car market is the ongoing growth in the electric car segment, with a further increase in EV sales anticipated next year. Notwithstanding this, we are still in the early stages of de-carbonising the national fleet and we have a very long way to go to get close to the targets in the Climate Action Plan. In this context, we need to continue year on year growth in EV sales, which in turn will kick start an active used EV market. In order to achieve this, we must both extend the EV supports until there is a critical mass of these cars to create a viable used car market, and implement a tax strategy that supports a much stronger new car market. The potential benefits of this approach include the acceleration of EV growth, a material reduction in emissions, removal of the worst polluters from Irish roads and increased tax revenues. In a recent address to the Oireachtas Committee on the Environment and Climate Action, the Society highlighted the importance of the extension of EV supports, the rolling out of a national charging infrastructure, and an increased focus on supporting the business EV market. It is simply too soon to start eroding the current EV supports, but the recent and sudden removal of the PHEV Grant sends a bad signal to motorists and the Industry. It is not too late to reverse this, and we would again urge the Government to re-instate this support for those vehicles that the Industry and consumers have already committed to."
The best selling car brand remains Toyota, followed by Volkswagen, Hyundai, Skoda, and Ford. The best selling individual model remains the Hyundai Tucson, followed by the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Yaris, Volkswagen Tiguan, and Toyota C-HR. The Toyota Corolla was the best-selling car in November.