Sales of new cars in Ireland (technically registrations really) held steady in 2024 as the industry enters 2025 on something of a tentative note, with a wary eye on the global political and economic outlook.
Roller coaster ride
Registrations took something of a roller-coaster ride in 2024, rising significantly in the early months of the year, before taking something of a tumble, recovering, and then finishing on 121,195 overall, a one per cent decrease compared to 2023.
Of that total, 17,459 were electric cars, a figure which can be viewed in two ways. On the one hand, that’s the second best year ever for EV sales. On the other hand, it represented a 23.6 per cent fall compared to 2023.
That fall was arrested in the last two months of the year, with electric car registrations rising significantly in November and December compared to the same months in 2023, but it remains to be seen if that represents a genuine turning of the EV corner, or if it’s just a blip, fuelled by the biannual arrival of the ‘Tesla boat’ - the controversial US car maker usually has two major shipments of new cars arriving in Ireland each year, which can induce temporary market distortions.
Tesla tops the depleted EV charts
As it happens, Tesla’s Model 3 saloon finished 2024 as the best selling electric car in Ireland, just ahead of Volkswagen’s ID.4. As for the rest of the market, there’s more than a little optimism in the air in the Irish car industry that electric sales are about to take a turn for the better. John Donegan, Brand Director at Skoda Ireland, said as the year closed: “Despite some global uncertainties I am optimistic regarding 2025. Inflation is under control and unemployment remains low. A total market of 125,000 new vehicles next year is achievable, with the Skoda brand to maintain third position. The Skoda brand has enjoyed its most successful year in the Irish market, with 12,181 vehicles delivered to customers. Skoda has outgrown every other brand in the market, increasing our share from 8.3 per cent in 2023 to 10.1 per cent this year. Our momentum will continue into 2025 with improved availability of Plug-In Hybrid Kodiaq, Superb, and the fully electric Enyaq. The industry is changing at a faster pace than ever before. Electrification, digitalisation, and artificial intelligence will provide both challenges and opportunities for our brand in the coming years.”
Indeed, Skoda’s performance was one of the major headlines of the year where Irish car sales were concerned, and the fact that the venerable Octavia saloon finished in second place in the overall sales charts proves at least that not everyone has been taken for a sucker by the continuing fashionability of SUVs.
Looking at the overall market, Brian Cooke, Director General of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), which compiles the figures, said: “The new car market in 2024 was in line with the previous year, with new car registrations finishing at 121,195 units, slightly behind 2023’s 122,400 units. Commercial Vehicles Sales, underlining the growth in employment and activity across the Irish economy, were more positive with LCV registrations finishing seven per cent ahead of last year and HGVs up eight per cent on 2023. The key feature of the 2024 new car market was the decline in Electric Vehicle sales, a reduction of 24 per cent compared to 2023. There has however been some tentative signs of a turnaround in EV sales towards the end of 2024, and the Industry is anticipating an increase in EV sales in 2025. The start of the new registration period, 251, this week, is an optimistic time for the Irish Motor Industry. With the variety of incentives and offers from retailers and manufacturers it is a good time for customers to shop for a new or used car.”
Toyota the best selling brand, Tucson the best selling car
Looking at the sales charts, Toyota finished on top, followed by Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai, and Kia. Hyundai’s Tucson continued its reign as Ireland’s best selling car (now into an eighth year) followed by the Octavia, the Kia Sportage, the Toyota RAV4, and the Toyota Yaris Cross.
Zoë Bradley, Head of Marketing Communications and Corporate Affairs in Toyota Ireland said, “2024 was an exceptional year for Toyota Ireland, marking our fourth consecutive year as Ireland’s best-selling car brand. Toyota Ireland's ‘Power of Choice’ strategy, encompassing hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric options, provides drivers with a diverse range of choices to transition to electrified motoring. This approach is pivotal in reducing Ireland’s reliance on harmful diesel, significantly cutting CO2 and NOX emissions. We’re excited to bring even more choice than ever to Irish drivers in 2025, as they transition to electrified motoring in a way that suits their individual needs and circumstances.”
As mentioned, the Tesla Model 3 finished top of the EV sales charts, followed by the VW ID.4, and then the Tesla Tesla Model Y, Kia EV6, and Hyundai Kona. Tesla was also the best selling EV brand, followed by Volkswagen, Lia, Hyundai, and BYD.
Imports of used cars - increasingly from Japan, with a significant rise in the imports of right-hand drive European models such as VWs and Audis - rose by 21.4 per cent for the year, to a total of 61,583. Why from Japan? A combination of the increasing post-Brexit costs of UK imports, and the bargain pricing of Japanese second hand stock seems to be driving the new-found importance of Japan to the Irish car market.
Hatchback the best selling body style? Shurely shome mishtake?
The best selling body style in 2024 was the hatchback, which might come as a surprise to those who would have expected the SUV to reign. However, that’s largely down to the slightly arcane way SIMI categorises cars, with numerous models which are clearly SUVs — including the Toyota Yaris Cross, the Nissan Juke, the Renault Arkana, and even the Renault Scenic — logged as hatchbacks.
Grey was, alas, the most popular colour, with the least popular being purple, with only 133 purple cars registered.
Arguably one of the year's biggest headlines, somewhat overlooked as we fretted over EV sales, was the fact that Irish drivers have almost irrevocably shunned the manual gearbox. 66.09 per cent of all registrations were for automatic cars, with manuals falling to just 33.8 per cent.
What sales stories and turmoil will 2025 bring? Watch this space…