Brian Cooke, SIMI

Demand for electric vehicles surges 45% in 2023

The total new car registrations for reached 121,850 in 2023
Trade
Brian Cooke, SIMI

2 January 2024

A total of 22,789 new electric cars were registered in 2023, an increase of 45.5% on 2022 according to figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).

Total new car registrations for 2023 finished at 121,850, an increase of 16% on 2022 with 105,398 registrations.    

Light commercial vehicle (LCV) registrations in 2023 saw an increase of 25.1% (29,403) compared to 2022 (23,510) and a 16.1% increase in 2019 (25,336). While new heavy goods vehicles increased by 20.4% (2,655) over 2022 (2,205).

 

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Market share for 2023 has seen petrol account for 30.07%, diesel 22.16%, electric 18.70%, hybrid 18.54% and plug-in hybrid 8.28%.

Automatic transmissions now account for 64.54% of market share, while manual transmissions have declined at 35.35%. The hatchback continues to remain Ireland’s top selling car body type of 2023, while grey retains the top selling colour title for the eight year running. 

Brian Cooke, director general, SIMI (pictured), said: “2023 was a year of progress for the Irish Motor Industry, both in terms of new vehicle registrations and electric vehicle sales. New car registrations finished at 121,850 units, up 16% on last year and 4% ahead of pre-Covid 2019.

“The growth in electric vehicle sales continued into 2023, with an increase in market share from 15% in 2022 to nearly 19% in 2023.This represented a 45% increase in EV sales for the year. We do expect to see some growth in EV sales again in 2024, but key to this will be the ongoing government support, both in terms of vehicle and taxation incentives and investment in a fit for purpose charging infrastructure. 

“The mix in the new car market however, from electric to hybrid to more traditional engine types, highlights the diverse nature of Irish motorists’ driving requirements, and reducing the age of the national fleet, as well as moving to zero emission vehicles, will be vital if we want to get close to Ireland’s climate goals.”

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