January new car sales up 15%

New car registrations for the month of January were up 15 per cent (31,470) when compared to January 2023 (27,337), according to figures released today by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).

However, despite this growth, registrations remain three per cent lower than pre-Covid levels in 2019.

Electric vehicle sales seen continued growth, with a record total of 4,109 new EVs registered for the month of January when compared to 3,674 in January 2023 (+12%).

Imported used cars seen a 40.7 per cent (5,326) increase in January 2024, when compared to January last year (3,786).

In terms of the new car market share in 2024, petrol cars continue to dominate at 31.83 per cent, with petrol-hybrids (23.95%) surpassing diesel at 21.77 per cent, followed by electric (13.06%), and plug-in electric hybrid (6.96%).

Automatic transmissions account for 65.77 per cent of the market share, while manual transmissions continue to see a decline (34.11%).

The hatchback remains Ireland’s top selling car body type, with 10,324 units registered so far in 2024.

Toyota closed out the January passenger car sales period as the clear market leader with a share of 17.34 per cent. This marks the fourth January in a row as Ireland’s best-selling car brand

A total of 5,457 passenger cars were sold by Toyota here last month, 1,665 more than the next best-seller (Hyundai).

Volkswagen and Hyundai were the joint best-selling electric vehicle brands for January, while the Hyundai Tucson has began 2024 as Ireland’s top-seller overall.

2024 total new vehicle stats:

Top selling car brands:
1. Toyota; 2. Hyundai; 3. Volkswagen; 4. Skoda; 5. Kia

Top car models:
1. Hyundai Tucson; 2. Toyota Yaris Cross; 3. Toyota RAV4; 4. Kia Sportage; 5. Toyota Corolla.

Top 5 selling EV brands:
1. Volkswagen; 1. Hyundai; 2. BYD; 3. Kia; 4. MG.; 5. Nissan

Top 5 selling EVs:
1.Hyundai Kona; 2. VW ID.4; 3. BYD Seal; 4. MG MG4; 5. VW ID.3.

Top selling car (January):
Hyundai Tucson

Top selling EV (January):
Hyundai Kona

Elsewhere, light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales are up 35.3 per cent (7,500) compared to January last year (5,542).

In the HGV (heavy goods vehicle) segment, registrations are also showing an increase of 7.8 per cent (458) in comparison to January 2023 (425).

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