Good start to 2025 for motor dealers
The Hyundai Tucson was the best-selling car in Ireland in January.
Motor dealers in Mayo enjoyed a buoyant start to 2025.
New vehicle registrations in the county rose by 4%, from 591 in January 2024 to 615 last month, according to data from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI). While the increase in sales is positive news after a sluggish 2024, Mayo still lagged behind the rest of the country, which saw an average increase of 7% in new registrations (33,521) compared to January 2024 (31,407).
There was mixed news for motor dealers in the rest of Connacht. The province's biggest car market, Co Galway, enjoyed a very strong January with new registrations rising by 13% to 1,591 (from 1,342 in January 2024). However, motor dealers in Co Sligo had a month to forget as the market shrunk by 11.5% - the highest decrease by far in the country - with 315 registrations in the month compared to 356 for the same period last year.
There was a marginal increase (1.5%) in Co Roscommon with new registrations rising to 333 from 328, while the country's smallest car market, Co Leitrim, saw sales increase by 12.2%, from 139 to 156.
Nationally, light Commercial vehicles (LCV) are down 16% (6,270) compared to January last year (7,478). While heavy goods vehicle (HGV) registrations are showing an increase of 8% (489) in comparison to January 2024 (454).
Imported used cars saw a 5% (5,604) rise in January 2025, when compared to January 2024 (5,325).
Electric vehicle (EV) sales experienced a record-breaking month with the highest sales recorded to date, 4,925 registrations in January, representing 20% increase when compared to 4,093 in January 2024. However, there were just 55 new EVs registered in Mayo for the month, which is not even 10% of the overall car market.
In the new car market share by engine type, Petrol cars remain the leader (despite a decline in share) at 28.24%, followed by Hybrid (Petrol Electric) 24.89%, Diesel at 16.31%, Electric at 14.69% and Plug-in Electric Hybrid at 14.17%.
Automatic transmissions account for 71.71% of market share, while manual transmissions continue to see a decline 28.28%.
Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General commenting:
“The new car market has started positively, with 33,521 new cars registered in January, an increase of 7% on the same month last year. For the commercial sector, registrations were mixed, with Light commercial vehicles (LCV) experiencing a decline of 16%, while Heavy Goods registrations (HGVs) saw an increase of 8% on last year.
Most notably, battery technology cars (BEV, PHEV, HEV) all saw significant growth, with their combined market share exceeding over half (55%) of the market. In particular, Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) sales surged in January, with 4,925 registrations, up 20% on the same period last year, the highest monthly total number of EVs sold, although their overall market share of 15% has yet to reach 2023 levels (19%). The underlying EV market continues to be dependent heavily on private sales which benefit from SEAI grant support, highlighting the importance of ongoing Government incentives to help stimulate the market. However, while there is cautious optimism over the trajectory of EV sales, one good month of sales does not necessarily define the whole year, and we still have a long way to go in the transition to electrification. The supply of EVs is there, with more newer EV models coming on stream across a range of price-points, so the focus must be clearly on supporting demand in what is still a relatively new market.”
