New figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry show a continued increase in the number of new electric vehicle registrations in June, while overall new car registrations also saw a big jump.
Today’s SIMI figures show that a total of 1,246 new electric cars were registered in June – a jump of 81.9% from the 685 registrations in June of last year.
So far this year, 13,631 new electric cars have been registered, a 27% increase on the same time last year when 10,737 electric cars were registered.
Meanwhile, overall new car registrations for June were up 63.5 % to 2,441 when compared to the figure of 1,493 the same time last year.
Registrations so far this year are up 3.5% to 81,750 on the same period last year when 78,979 new cars were sold.
SIMI noted that petrol cars continued as the new car market leader at 27.23% in June, followed by hybrid (petrol electric) at 22.77%, diesel at 17.26%, electric at 16.67% and plug-in electric hybrid at 14.46%.
Today’s SIMI figures show that the top selling new car in June was the Tesla Model 3.
They also reveal that the top five selling new car brands so far this year are Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Skoda and Kia.
The five top new car models are the Hyundai Tucson, the Toyota RAV4, the Toyota Yaris Cross, the Kia Sportage and the Skoda Octavia.
Meanwhile, the five top selling new EV brands were Volkswagen, Kia, Tesla, Hyundai and BYD.
The top selling new EV model were the Volkswagen ID.4, the Tesla Model 3, the Kia EV3, the Kia EV6 and the Tesla Model Y.
Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General, said that June was a positive month for new car registrations, with a 64% increase compared to the same month last year. Year-to-date sales remain ahead of last year by 3.5%, with a total of 81,750 new cars registered.
Mr Cooke said the most notable statistic for the half of the year has been the performance of battery electric vehicle sales, which have shown consistent growth each month.
He noted that EVs represent nearly 17% of new cars sold this year.
“While this is clearly a positive development, it should be highlighted that EV sales are behind 2023 levels (14,307), and extension of Government supports is still vital in the establishment of the EV market,” he added.
July marks the start of the 252 sales period, along with the debut of the new green “flash” on licence registration plates for zero-emission vehicles.
The new green registration plates are optional and apply to all fully electric vehicles, including cars, vans, motorbikes and trucks.
