New car market growth with EVs sales set monthly record

New car sales in July were up 24 per cent on the same month last year. Total registrations in July were 21,904, bringing total new car figure for the year so far to 87,115, up 20 per cent from the previous year.

Electric vehicles sales set a new monthly record, with 4,161 registrations. So far this year 18,458 EVs have been registered. According to Brian Cooke, director general of the SIMI: “Improved supply and a greater range of new models available for motorists has supported this momentum behind EVs.

“The availability of SEAI grants to support positive decision-making has been key, and their retention beyond this year, along with other EV incentives, is vital if we want to build on this success.

“Taking a closer look at the EV registration numbers, the main driver of growth is from consumers, who do qualify for the grant, and account for over 76% of

EV sales.

“However, there also needs to be a focus on the business market, which without grant support really needs to see the extension of the Benefit in Kind (BIK) reliefs in Budget 2024, while investment in the public charging infrastructure is also crucial at this stage.”

In the commercial sector, van sales are up 35.3 per cent on last year, with 22,997 registrations, while truck sales are up 33.4 per cent at 1,927 up to the end of July.

Toyota is the best-seller with 1,4999 registrations with 14.3 per cent of the market, followed by Volkswagen on 11,744, Hyundai on 10,557 and Skoda on 8,532. While EV accounts for 17.6 per cent of sales this year, petrol remains on top for new car buyers, representing 32.3 per cent of the new car market, ahead of diesel on 22 per cent, with hybrids at 18 per cent.

Previous estimates had suggested the rate dropped to 3.8% in May and June, below the previous all-time low of 3.9% reached between October 2000 and April 2001 in the early days of the Celtic Tiger.

CSO figures this week showed that that the unemployment rate for men fell to 4.3% in July from a revised rate of 4.5% in June 2023, and up from 4.1% the same month last year.

The jobless rate for women was unchanged at a revised June rate of 3.9% and was down from a rate of 4.4% in July of last year.

But the youth unemployment rate rose to 10.7% in July of this year from a revised rate of 10.5% in June.

Today's figures show that the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed stood at 111,900 in July, down from 115,500 in June.