Electric vehicle sales double in February

/ 1st March 2022 /

Electrical car sales doubled in the month of February despite new vehicles registrations dropping across the country.

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), released the official 221 new vehicle registration figures for the second month of the year.

The month saw 1,620 new electric vehicles registered compared to 805 in February 2021. So far this year 4,320 new electric cars have been registered in comparison to 1,782 on the same period in 2021.

Total new car registrations for the month of February are down 12.2% to 12,030 when compared to the same period last year, where sales were 13,700.

There is also a drop in the overall figure for the year-to-date versus the first two months of 2021, with sales down down 4.6% to 37,060 compared to 38,840.

Electric Vehicle, Plug-in Hybrids and Hybrids continue to increase their market share, with a combined share of 44%. Despite a large decrease in market share for internal combustion engine type vehicles, petrol remains dominant 27.4%, with Diesel accounting for 25.9%, Hybrid 24.2%, Electric 11.7% and Plug-in Electric Hybrid 8.0%.

SIMI Director General Brian Cooke commented: "Despite strong demand for new and used cars, supply continues to be a major issue, with any potential recovery unlikely to happen until the second half of 2022 at the earliest.

Electrical Car Sales February — SIMI Director General Brian Cooke said: "despite strong demand for new and used cars, supply continues to be a major issue, with any potential recovery unlikely to happen until the second half of 2022 at the earliest."

"There are now over 50,000 Electric Vehicles (combined EV and PHEV) on Irish roads, and there is increasing consumer interest for these vehicles. As highlighted in the recently issued report on reducing light fleet carbon emissions, commissioned by SIMI, it is essential that our charging infrastructure keeps pace with this acceleration in the electrification of the Irish car fleet.

"In this context ongoing support from government in the charging network is vital if we are to convince more consumers that an electric vehicle is a viable choice of car for their driving needs."

Elsewhere in the market, light Commercials Vehicle (LCV) sales declined 30.9% on a year earlier, with the decline measured at 12.0% year-to-date. HGV registrations were up 7.6% on February 2021.

Used car imports for February (3,810) were down 33.9% on February 2021. Year to date imports are down 37.6%