New car registrations for the month of January 2023 were up 9.4% year-on-year at 27,360 according to Society of the Irish Motor Industry data.

In a sign of economic confidence, Light Commercial Vehicles registrations are up 10.1% (5,560) compared with January last year. Heavy Goods Vehicle registrations increased by 52% year-on-year to 424.

New electric car registrations reached their highest month on record with 3,680 registered, up 36.5% on January 2022, and accounted for 13.5% of the marketplace.

SIMI said that automatic transmissions had 58% market share for the first batch of 231 registrations, and that hatchbacks are the most popular car body type.

Grey is still the most popular colour followed by black, with blue coming back in favour at the No.3 spot.

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SIMI director general Brian Cooke noted that January 2023 new car registrations lag pre-Covid January 2019 by 15%.

“With supply chains improving, we anticipate continuing growth in the EV market, although this will not only be down to vehicle supply but also to the level of government supports,” Cooke added.

“he recent announcement of increased funding by the state for the national charging infrastructure will help allay range anxiety concerns and encourage more motorists to look at an EV. However, this increased investment must not be at the expense of purchase supports.

“The extension of grants, reduced tolling charges and VRT reliefs, as well as halting the reduction in the EV Benefit-In-Kind reliefs, should also be on the agenda.”

Year to date, the most popular EVs are Hyundai Ioniq, Hyundai Kona, VW ID.4, Kia EV6, BMWiX, Kia Niro, Nissan Leaf, Skoda Enaq, Renault Megane and Toyota BZX4.

Photo: Kia's EV6 was the fourth most popular EV with new car buyers in January 2023