121,850 New Car Registrations in 2023; Electric Cars up 45%

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) released their official new vehicle registrations statistics for 2023. 

Total new car registrations for 2023, finished at 121,850 +16% on 2022 (105,398) and up 4% on 2019 (117,109).    

New 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 on 2019 (25,336). While New Heavy Commercial Vehicle registrations (HGV) saw an increase of 20.4% (2,655) in comparison to 2022 (2,205) and 19.9% on 2019 (2,214).

Imported Used Cars saw 50,716 registrations in 2023, an increase of 9.09% on 2022 (46,490) and a decrease of 55.48% on 2019 (113,926).

A total of 22,789 new electric cars were registered in 2023, an increase on the 15,678 registrations seen in 2022 (+45.4%) and 3,444 in 2019 (+561.7%).

Market share for 2023 seen Petrol account for 30.07%, Diesel 22.16%, Electric 18.70%, Hybrid 18.54% and Plug-In Hybrid 8.28%. Petrol continues to remain the most popular engine type for 2023, while Electric, Hybrid, and Plug-in Hybrid account for 45.5% of the market.  

Automatic transmissions now account for (64.54%) of market share, while manual transmissions have declined (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, SIMI Director General commenting: “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. 

“The commercial vehicle sector both light and heavy vehicles also delivered a solid performance in 2023. Light commercial vehicles finished 25% ahead of last year and Heavy Goods Vehicles saw a 20% increase on 2022.”