The Toyota Corolla remained a bestseller in Ireland in 2021New data released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry shows that there were 1,131 new cars registrations in Ireland in November 2021, compared to 913 in November 2020, an increase of 23.9%.
So far this year, 104,563 new cars have been registered, compared to 87,724 for the same period in 2020, an increase of 19.2%.
Electric vehicle sales continue to grow, now accounting for just over 8% of the new car market. 195 new electric vehicles were registered in November 2021, compared to 61 in November 2020.
8,533 new electric cars have been registered in Ireland year to date, in comparison to 3,928 in the same period in 2020.
Plug-in hybrids and hybrids also continue to increase their market share, with their combined market share now over 31.62%. Diesel now accounts for 33.50%, petrol for 32.20%, hybrid for 16.19% and plug-in hybrid for 7.27%.
The top 5 bestselling brands in November 2021 were 1. Toyota, 2. Volkswagen, 3. Hyundai, 4. Skoda, and 5. Ford.
The top 5 bestselling models are 1. Hyundai Tucson, 2. Toyota Corolla, 3. Toyota Yaris, 4. Volkswagen Tiguan, and 5. Toyota C-HR.
The bestselling car in November was the Toyota Corolla.
Light Commercials Vehicles (LCV) saw a decrease of 767 registrations compared to 829 in the same period last year. Year to date, 28,424 new LCVs have been registered, an increase on last year’s 21,431.
Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) saw an increase of 177 registrations in November when compared to 81 in November 2020. Year to date, HGV registrations total 2,649 compared with 2,037 in 2020.
There were 4,445 used cars imported in November 2021, compared with 8,645 imports in November 2020. Year to date, used imports are down 10.7% (59,982) on 2020 (67,149).
Commenting Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General:
“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.”