Mayo motor dealers enjoyed buoyant 2025

Motor dealers in Mayo enjoyed a buoyant 2025 with sales of new vehicles rising by seven per cent from the previous year.

There were 2,191 new vehicle registrations in Mayo in 2025 compared to 2,046 in 2024, a rise of 7.09%. 

End-of-year figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) revealed that the market for new cars was particularly strong in neighbouring Galway, which saw a 9.3% rise in new vehicle registrations. A total of 5,152 new vehicles were driven off forecourts in Galway during 2025 compared to 4,713 a year earlier. Galway has the largest car market in Connacht and its sales exceeded the combined totals for Mayo, Sligo, Roscommon and Leitrim.

While motor dealers in Galway and Mayo were posting strong sales figures, it was a different situation in Roscommon and Leitrim where new vehicle registrations dropped compared to a year earlier. In Roscommon, sales of new vehicles dropped from 1,125 in 2024 to 1,090 last year, while Leitrim suffered the biggest decline nationally, falling from 487 new vehicle registrations in 2024 to 466 last year, a decline of 4.31%. Indeed, the only other counties to record a fall in car sales in 2025 were Cavan and Kilkenny.

Sales of new vehicles was fairly static in Co Sligo, with 1,195 new vehicle registrations in 2025 compared to 1,188 a year earlier, an increase of 0.59%. 

Nationally, new car registrations for 2025 reached 124,954, representing a 3% increase when compared to the figure of 121,316 in 2024. 

New light commercial vehicle (LCV) registrations in 2025 increased by 7%, from 30,669 to 32,779. New heavy goods vehicle (HGV) registrations decreased by 5.12%, from 2,862 in 2024 to 2,715 last year.

There were 71,813 registrations of imported used cars in 2025, an increase of 16.6% on 2024 when 61,583 imported cars were registered.

Some 23,601 new electric cars were registered in 2025, an increase of 35.1% from the 17,460 registrations seen in 2024.

Market share for 2025 sees petrol accounting for 25.11%, Hybrid 22.48%, Electric 18.89%, Diesel 17.09%, and Plug-In Hybrid 14.82%. Petrol remains the most popular engine type of choice for 2025, despite a decline in market share. Electric, Hybrid, and Plug-in Hybrid vehicles have gained momentum, accounting for over 56% of the market.

Automatic transmissions accounted for 75.25% of the market share in 2025, while manual transmissions have declined to 24.73%.

The hatchback continues to remain Ireland’s top-selling car body type of 2025. Grey has retained the top-selling colour title for the tenth year running.

Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General, commented:

“The new car market in 2025 finished in line with projections, as new car registrations reached 124,954 units, an increase of 3% on 2024. Light commercial vehicle sales were 7% ahead of last year, while HGV registrations were down 5% on 2024. Battery-electric cars reached 23,601 units, an increase of 35% on 2024, the highest level of sales annually, surpassing the previous record year of 2023, with an increase in registrations in every county. This, along with the increase in plug-in hybrid registrations, meant that Ireland comfortably surpassed the 2025 Climate Action Plan targets. 

"Hybrid-electric vehicles also continued to gain momentum in 2025, while traditional fuels (petrol and diesel) have seen a decline in their market share. The 261 sales period has now commenced, and the Irish motor industry is optimistic for the year ahead. Retailers and manufacturers have a variety of offers and different models available for both new and used cars to suit all buyers, making it a good time to shop around.”