2022 New Car Registrations marginally ahead; 81% uplift in Electric Vehicles

03/01/2023
  • 105,253 new cars registered in 2022 compared to 104,932 for the same period in 2021 (-0.3%) and 117,109 in 2019 (-10.1%).
  • 15,678 new electric cars registered in 2022 comparison to 8,646 on the same period 2021 (+81.3%) and 3,444 in 2019 (+355.2%).

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) today released their official new vehicle registrations statistics for 2022. 

Total new car registrations for 2022, finished at 105,253 +0.3% on 2021 (104,932) and down 10.1% on 2019 (117,109).    

New Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) registrations in 2022 saw a decrease of 17.7% (23,653) compared to 2021 (28,742) and -6.6% 2019 (25,336). While New Heavy Commercial Vehicle registrations (HGV) saw a decrease of 8.1% (2,494) in comparison to 2021 (2,715) and -6.2% on 2019 (2,659).

Imported Used Cars saw 46,490 registrations in 2022, a decrease of 26.9% on 2021 (63,617) and a decrease of 59.2% on 2019 (113,926).

A total of 15,678 new electric cars were registered in 2022, an increase on the 8,646 registrations seen in 2021 and 3,444 in 2019. 

The stats reflect a changing marketplace in 2022. Petrol accounted for 30.16%, Diesel 26.77%, Hybrid 19.29%, Electric 14.90%, and Plug-In Hybrid 6.76%. Petrol remains the most popular engine type for 2022, despite a decline in its market share last year (32.16%) while hybrid, electric and plug-in hybrid continued to gain market share in 2022 and now account for 41% of the market.  

Automatic transmissions have taken over in popularity, now accounting for (56.99%) of market share, while manual transmissions have declined (42.95%).

The hatchback continues to remain Ireland’s top selling car body type of 2022. While grey is the top selling colour and has continued to keep that title now for the past seven years.

Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General commenting: 

“Total new car registrations for 2022 were marginally ahead of 2021 but remain 10% behind that of 2019 (pre-Covid levels). Despite the re-opening of the economy and strong economic growth, 2022 was another challenging year for the Irish Motor Industry, with new car sales as well as commercial vehicles being impacted by supply constraints. On a more positive note, the electric car segment continues to grow strongly with 15,678 new electric cars registered in 2022, an increase of 81% on 2021. Looking forward to the new 231 registration period, retailers are reporting strong new car orders, which will also attract vital trade-ins for the used car market. Like the last two years, we again are expecting further growth in electric vehicles sales this year, however the extent of this growth will be determined not only by supply but also Government support in the EV project, both in terms of extending the current EV grant support and supporting investment in the national charging infrastructure. The combination of Government support and Industry investment is essential if we want to create an active used EV market in as short a timeframe as possible. We have a huge challenge in reaching emission reduction targets over the next decade and this can only be achieved with the right economic and taxation environment that support the sale of new low and zero emissions vehicles.”

2022 Total New Vehicle Stats

  • New Car sales total year to date (2022) 105,253 v (2021) 104,932 +0.3%
  • New Car sales total year to date (2022) 105,253 v (2019) 117,109 -10.1%
  • New Car sales total December (2022) 209 v (2021) 387 -46.0% 
  • New Car sales total December (2022) 209 v (2019) 224 -6.7%
  • Light Commercial Vehicles sales year to date (2022) 23,653 v (2021) 28,742 -17.7%
  • Light Commercial Vehicles sales year to date (2022) 23,653 v (2019) 25,336 -6.6%
  • Light Commercial Vehicles sales total December (2022) 347 v (2021) 314 +10.5%
  • Light Commercial Vehicles sales total December (2022) 347 v (2019) 175 +98.3%
  • Heavy Goods Vehicle total sales year to date (2022) 2,494 v (2021) 2,715 -8.1%
  • Heavy Goods Vehicle total sales year to date (2022) 2,494 v (2019) 2,659 -6.2%
  • Heavy Goods Vehicle total sales December (2022) 66 v (2021) 53 +24.5%
  • Heavy Goods Vehicle total sales December (2022) 66 v (2019) 49 +34.7%
  • Used Car Imports total year to date (2022) 46,490 v (2021) 63,617 -26.9%
  • Used Car Imports total year to date (2022) 46,490 v (2019) 113,926 -59.2%
  • Used Car Imports total December (2022) 2,443 v (2021) 3,633 -32.8%
  • Used Car Imports total December (2022) 2,443 v (2019) 10,026 -75.6%
  • New Electric Vehicles sales total year to date (2022) 15,678 v (2021) 8,646 +81.3%
  • New Electric Vehicles sales total year to date (2022) 15,678 v (2019) 3,444 +355.2%
  • New Electric Vehicles sales December (2022) 88 v (2021) 118 -25.4%
  • New Electric Vehicles sales December (2022) 88 v (2019) 31 +183.9%
  • 5 Top Selling Car Brands 2022 were: 1. TOYOTA, 2. HYUNDAI, 3.VOLKSWAGEN, 4.KIA, 5.SKODA 
  • 5 Top car model’s year 2022 were 1.HYUNDAI TUCSON, 2.TOYOTA COROLLA, 3.KIA SPORTAGE, 4.TOYOTA C-HR, 5. VOLKSWAGEN ID.4
  • 5 Top Selling Electric Vehicles (EV) 2022: 1. VOLKSWAGEN ID.4, 2. HYUNDAI IONIQ 5, 3.TESLA MODEL 3, 4. KIA EV6, 5.VOLKSWAGEN ID.3
  • Top Selling Car 2022: HYUNDAI TUCSON
  • Top 3 Top Selling New Car Colours 2022: 1.Grey 2.Black 3.Blue
  • Top New Car Body Type: Hatchback
  • 2022 % Share of Cars by Transmission Type: Automatic 56.99% Manual 42.95% 
  • Market share by engine type 2022: Petrol 30.16% Diesel 26.77% Hybrid 19.29%, Electric 14.90%, Plug-in Hybrid 6.76%
  • ​​​​​​​Tables below shows total new car registrations by county for 2022 (January-December) and new Electric car registrations by county. 

New Car Registrations by County 2022

County

2022 Units

2021 Units

% Change

2022 % Share

2021 % Share

Carlow

1186

1177

0.76

1.13

1.12

Cavan

1083

1137

-4.75

1.03

1.08

Clare

2110

2115

-0.24

2

2.02

Cork

13015

12347

5.41

12.37

11.77

Donegal

2534

2406

5.32

2.41

2.29

Dublin

41756

43756

-4.57

39.67

41.7

Galway

4486

4105

9.28

4.26

3.91

Kerry

2281

2223

2.61

2.17

2.12

Kildare

4668

4489

3.99

4.44

4.28

Kilkenny

1932

1861

3.82

1.84

1.77

Laois

1234

1236

-0.16

1.17

1.18

Leitrim

426

390

9.23

0.4

0.37

Limerick

3559

3479

2.3

3.38

3.32

Longford

514

517

-0.58

0.49

0.49

Louth

2463

2361

4.32

2.34

2.25

Mayo

1933

1850

4.49

1.84

1.76

Meath

3676

3402

8.05

3.49

3.24

Monaghan

826

881

-6.24

0.78

0.84

Offaly

1211

1164

4.04

1.15

1.11

Roscommon

999

993

0.6

0.95

0.95

Sligo

1034

1068

-3.18

0.98

1.02

Tipperary

2719

2711

0.3

2.58

2.58

Waterford

2615

2719

-3.82

2.48

2.59

Westmeath

1526

1566

-2.55

1.45

1.49

Wexford

2874

2601

10.5

2.73

2.48

Wicklow

2593

2378

9.04

2.46

2.27

New Electric Car Registrations by County 2022

County

2022 Units

2021 Units

% Change

2022 % Share

2021 % Share

Carlow

140

104

34.62

0.89

1.2

Cavan

103

76

35.53

0.66

0.88

Clare

250

160

56.25

1.59

1.85

Cork

1515

816

85.66

9.66

9.44

Donegal

238

121

96.69

1.52

1.4

Dublin

7309

4238

72.46

46.62

49.02

Galway

633

306

106.86

4.04

3.54

Kerry

236

111

112.61

1.51

1.28

Kildare

848

451

88.03

5.41

5.22

Kilkenny

224

108

107.41

1.43

1.25

Laois

158

83

90.36

1.01

0.96

Leitrim

45

16

181.25

0.29

0.19

Limerick

428

232

84.48

2.73

2.68

Longford

46

25

84

0.29

0.29

Louth

281

194

44.85

1.79

2.24

Mayo

220

104

111.54

1.4

1.2

Meath

696

322

116.15

4.44

3.72

Monaghan

59

23

156.52

0.38

0.27

Offaly

128

57

124.56

0.82

0.66

Roscommon

107

44

143.18

0.68

0.51

Sligo

155

91

70.33

0.99

1.05

Tipperary

335

153

118.95

2.14

1.77

Waterford

308

140

120

1.96

1.62

Westmeath

205

131

56.49

1.31

1.52

Wexford

386

207

86.47

2.46

2.39

Wicklow

625

333

87.69

3.99

3.85