The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has released its registration figures for November, and the good news is that new car registrations have risen considerably.
However, hold off on the bunting and celebrations just yet — November is traditionally a very quiet month for the Irish car industry, and while registrations did rise by a massive 22 per cent compared to November 2023, that’s actually not a huge figure in terms of actual, individual cars. 1,123 new cars were registered this November, while the figure for November 2023 was 921.
Overall sales still one per cent down
Still, it’s an upward tick for car sales following several months of decline and stagnation. It means that registrations for the year are one per cent down on the same period in 2023 — 120,783 compared to 122,055 new cars.
The bigger news was that after 18 months of downward trajectory, electric car sales also rose in Ireland in November, going up by 59.3 per cent. That’s a massive recovery — 516 cars against 314 this time last year — but again, caution is required. November is traditionally the month when Tesla delivers new cars into the market, and sure enough the Tesla Model 3 topped the charts for November registrations — you can insert your own political commentary here.
Are EV sales taking off again?
That said, it may well be that EV sales really are starting to take off again. The Nissan Leaf, Polestar 2, and Toyota bz4X were all in the top ten sales charts for November. EV sales for the year to date are still down by 24 per cent, though.
Elsewhere, imports of used cars rose again in November, but only by a marginal 2.4 per cent, bringing the total rise this year to 23.5 per cent, with 58,410 used cars imported — the majority from Japan.
Although light commercial sales (vans, basically) are up by 6.9 per cent for the year, they actually fell quite a lot in November — by 30 per cent. With van sales generally seen as an indicator of wider economic activity, was this a bit of pre-election nerves among businesses?
Petrol power still dominant
In the new car market share by engine type for 2024, Petrol cars continue to lead the new car market at 30.38 per cent followed by Diesel at 22.86 per cent, then Hybrid (Petrol Electric) at 20.95 per cent, Electric at 14.21 per cent, and Plug-in Electric Hybrid at 10.05 per cent.
Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General commenting: “In November new car registrations increased by 22 per cent when compared to the same month last year. Despite this increase, year-to-date registrations are down by 1 per cent. Both light and heavy commercial vehicle registrations saw a decline in sales for November, but activity year to date remains ahead for the commercial fleets. The new electric car market, following nine months of decline, saw some improvement in November, with 516 new electric cars registered, representing a 59 per cent increase from November 2023. However, year to date EV registrations are 24 per cent lower than 2023. Hopefully, we are starting to turn a corner for Electric Vehicles following a very challenging year. With this in mind, the new Programme for Government must include increased support for the EV project, strong investment in incentives and in the charging infrastructure. As we approach the final few weeks of 2024, the Industry’s focus is now firmly on its key selling period at the start of 2025 with generous incentives for customers to buy new cars across all brands and all market segments, members are hopeful for the busy start to 2025.”
Election manifestos
Commenting on SIMI’s November sales data, Phil Barnes, Geotab’s Business Development Manager for Ireland & UK, said: “Despite a much welcomed boost for EV sales in November, it comes after eight consecutive months where the market contracted. So all eyes will now turn to Government formation talks following last week’s election to see what supports to boost EV sales contained in election manifestos of the main political parties will make it into the next Programme for Government.
“A number of promising measures were proposed in election manifestos, with Fianna Fáil promising to increase grant levels and also link grants to income earnings which would make EVs more attractive to households who are struggling to afford them. This type of targeted intervention is a smart way to ensure that financial support goes to potential buyers who are being held back financially from making the switch to a zero emissions vehicle. Another welcome proposal is Fine Gael’s proposed scrappage scheme. A similar scheme is already in place in Spain, where individuals purchasing a zero emissions vehicle can obtain a bonus if an ICE vehicle is being scrapped. According to SIMI, there are 900,000 cars (46.4 per cent of the national car fleet) that are over nine years old on Irish roads, which represents a significant amount of high emitting vehicles.
Annus horribilis
“The various proposals underline the fact that we need to dangle more of a carrot to entice the public to purchase EVs in higher numbers. 2024 has been an annus horribilis for EVs in Ireland, but looking ahead to next year there is an opportunity to draw a line in the sand and get the zero emissions movement back on a positive footing.”
In terms of the best-seller lists, Toyota is still on top of the best-selling brands, followed by Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai, and Kia. The Hyundai Tucson is still the best-selling car, followed by the Skoda Octavia, the Kia Sportage, the Toyota RAV4, and the Toyota Yaris Cross As mentioned, the best-selling car in November — and therefore the best-selling EV — was the Tesla Model 3, but the best-selling electric car for the year to date is the Volkswagen ID.4, followed by the Model 3, Tesla Model Y, Kia EV6, and Hyundai Kona.