November New Car Registrations up 24%: EV supports vital to create a viable used car market

01/12/2021

Recent and sudden removal of the PHEV Grant sends a bad signal to motorists and the Industry.

  • 1,131 new cars registrations for November compared to 913 in November 2020 (+24%) and 761 in November 2019 (+48.6%).
  • 104,563 new cars registered year to date compared to 87,724 for the same period in 2020 (+19.2%) and 116,885 in 2019 (-10.5%). 
  • 195 new electric vehicles registered in November compared to 61 in November 2020 (+219.7%). 
  • 8,533 new electric cars registered year to date in comparison to 3,928 on the same period 2020 (+117.2%).

    The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) today released their official new vehicle statistics. To present a more accurate picture of the new vehicle registrations, it is important to compare registrations totals with the same period in 2019 (pre-COVID) when businesses were fully operational.

Light Commercials Vehicles (LCV) seen a decrease of 767 registrations compared to November last year 829 and an increase on 857 registrations for the same month in 2019. Year to date 28,424 new LCVs were registered, an increase on last year’s 21,431 (+32.6%) and on 25,161 in 2019 (+13.0%).

Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) seen an increase of 177 registrations in November when compared to 81 in November 2020 and 118 November 2019. Year to date HGV's registrations total 2,649 compared with 2,037 in 2020 (+30.04%) and 2,610 in 2019 (+1.5%).

4,445 used cars imported in November 2021, compared with 8,645 imports in November 2020, and a decrease on the 10,008 imports in November 2019. Year to date used imports are down 10.7% (59,982) on 2020 (67,149) and down 42.3% on 2019 (103,900).

195 new electric vehicles registered in November compared to 61 in November 2020. So far this year 8,533 new electric cars have been registered in comparison to 3,928 on the same period 2020. Electric Vehicle, Plug-in Hybrids and Hybrids continue to increase their market share, with their combined market share now over 31.62%. Diesel now accounts for 33.50%, Petrol 32.20%, Hybrid 16.19%, Electric 8.16% and Plug-in Electric Hybrid 7.27%.

Brian Cooke Director General SIMI

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.”

2021 Total New Vehicle Stats 

  • New Car sales total year to date (2021) 104,563 v (2020) 87,724 +19.2%
  • New Car sales total year to date (2021) 104,563 v (2019) 116,885 -10.5%
  • New Car sales total November (2021) 1,131 v (2020) 913 +24%
  • New Car sales total November (2021) 1,131 v (2019) 761 +48.6%
  • Light Commercial Vehicles sales year to date (2021) 28,424 v (2020) 21,431 +32.6%
  • Light Commercial Vehicles sales year to date (2021) 28,424 v (2019) 25,161 +13.0%
  • Light Commercial Vehicles sales total November (2021) 767 v (2020) 829 -7.5%
  • Light Commercial Vehicles sales total November (2021) 767 v (2019) 857 -10.5%
  • Heavy Goods Vehicle total sales year to date (2021) 2,649 v (2020) 2,037 +30.04%
  • Heavy Goods Vehicle total sales year to date (2021) 2,649 v (2019) 2,610 +1.5%
  • Heavy Goods Vehicle total sales November (2021) 177 v (2020) 81 +118.5%
  • Heavy Goods Vehicle total sales November (2021) 177 v (2019) 118 +50.0%
  • Used Car Imports total year to date (2021) 59,982 v (2020) 67,149 -10.7%
  • Used Car Imports total year to date (2021) 59,982 v (2019) 103,900 -42.3%
  • Used Car Imports total November (2021) 4,445 v (2020) 8,645 -48.6%
  • Used Car Imports total November (2021) 4,445 v (2019) 10,008 -55.6%
  • New Electric Vehicles sales total year to date (2021) 8,533 v (2020) 3,928 +117.2%
  • New Electric Vehicles sales total year to date (2021) 8,533 v (2019) 3,413+150.0%
  • New Electric Vehicles sales November (2021) 195 v (2020) 61 +219.7%
  • New Electric Vehicles sales November (2021) 195 v (2019) 193 +1.0%
  • 5 Top Selling Car Brands November 2021 were: 1. Toyota 2. Volkswagen 3. Hyundai 4. Skoda 5. Ford   
  • 5 Top car model’s year November 2021 were: 1. Hyundai Tucson 2. Toyota Corolla 3. Toyota Yaris 4. Volkswagen Tiguan 5. Toyota C-HR
  • Top Selling Car November 2021: Toyota Corolla
  • Market share by engine type 2021: Diesel 33.50%, Petrol 32.20%, Hybrid 16.19%, Electric 8.16% and Plug-in Electric Hybrid 7.27%
  • Table below shows new car registrations by county for January-November 2021.

New Car Registrations by County Year to Date
(January-November) 2021

County

2021 Units

2020 Units

% Change

2021 % Share

2020 % Share

Carlow

1170

1025

14.15

1.12

1.17

Cavan

1135

1000

13.5

1.09

1.14

Clare

2100

1971

6.54

2.01

2.25

Cork

12324

11056

11.47

11.79

12.6

Donegal

2399

2094

14.57

2.29

2.39

Dublin

43609

33809

28.99

41.71

38.54

Galway

4097

3608

13.55

3.92

4.11

Kerry

2205

1932

14.13

2.11

2.2

Kildare

4485

3877

15.68

4.29

4.42

Kilkenny

1856

1780

4.27

1.78

2.03

Laois

1233

1177

4.76

1.18

1.34

Leitrim

386

397

-2.77

0.37

0.45

Limerick

3466

3186

8.79

3.31

3.63

Longford

517

426

21.36

0.49

0.49

Louth

2357

2103

12.08

2.25

2.4

Mayo

1825

1633

11.76

1.75

1.86

Meath

3394

2816

20.53

3.25

3.21

Monaghan

881

780

12.95

0.84

0.89

Offaly

1160

1114

4.13

1.11

1.27

Roscommon

981

839

16.92

0.94

0.96

Sligo

1055

929

13.56

1.01

1.06

Tipperary

2693

2506

7.46

2.58

2.86

Waterford

2716

2104

29.09

2.6

2.4

Westmeath

1562

1285

21.56

1.49

1.46

Wexford

2596

2221

16.88

2.48

2.53

Wicklow

2361

2056

14.83

2.26

2.34

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