Huge increase in number of electric vehicles registered in Louth last year

There was a 44.85% increase in the number of electric vehicles registered in Louth last year, according to official new vehicle registrations statistics for 2022, released today by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).

2,463 new vehicles were registered in total in Louth in 2022, up from 2,361 in 2021, an increase of 4.32%. Of this, 281 were electric vehicles, up from 194 in 2021. 

The most popular engine type remained petrol however, with 932 registered in Louth last year, up from 878 in 2021. This was followed by diesel engines, with 589 units registered and then petrol electric (hybrid) at 507 units.

The number of vehicles with diesel engines registered fell by 15.25% last year, with petrol electric hybrids increasing by 28.35%.

Toyota was the most popular make of car in Louth last year, with 386 units registered, representing 15.67% of the total number of cars registered. This was followed by Hyundai at 11.94% and then Volkswagen at 10.96%.

The most popular model of car in Louth however, was the Hyundai Tucson, with 167 units registered, followed by the Toyota Corolla with 101 units registered.

Nationally, total new car registrations for 2022, finished at 105,253, +0.3% on 2021 (104,932) and down 10.1% on 2019 (117,109).    

New Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) registrations in 2022 saw a decrease of 17.7% (23,653) compared to 2021 (28,742) and -6.6% 2019 (25,336). While New Heavy Commercial Vehicle registrations (HGV) saw a decrease of 8.1% (2,494) in comparison to 2021 (2,715) and -6.2% on 2019 (2,659).

Imported Used Cars saw 46,490 registrations in 2022, a decrease of 26.9% on 2021 (63,617) and a decrease of 59.2% on 2019 (113,926).

A total of 15,678 new electric cars were registered in 2022, an increase on the 8,646 registrations seen in 2021 and 3,444 in 2019. 

Petrol accounted for 30.16%, Diesel 26.77%, Hybrid 19.29%, Electric 14.90%, and Plug-In Hybrid 6.76%. Petrol remains the most popular engine type for 2022, despite a decline in its market share last year (32.16%) while hybrid, electric and plug-in hybrid continued to gain market share in 2022 and now account for 41% of the market.  

Automatic transmissions have taken over in popularity, now accounting for (56.99%) of market share, while manual transmissions have declined (42.95%). 

The hatchback continues to remain Ireland’s top selling car body type of 2022. While grey is the top selling colour and has continued to keep that title now for the past seven years.

Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General commented: “Total new car registrations for 2022 were marginally ahead of 2021 but remain 10% behind that of 2019 (pre-Covid levels). Despite the re-opening of the economy and strong economic growth, 2022 was another challenging year for the Irish Motor Industry, with new car sales as well as commercial vehicles being impacted by supply constraints.

"On a more positive note, the electric car segment continues to grow strongly with 15,678 new electric cars registered in 2022, an increase of 81% on 2021. Looking forward to the new 231 registration period, retailers are reporting strong new car orders, which will also attract vital trade-ins for the used car market.

"Like the last two years, we again are expecting further growth in electric vehicles sales this year, however the extent of this growth will be determined not only by supply but also Government support in the EV project, both in terms of extending the current EV grant support and supporting investment in the national charging infrastructure.

"The combination of Government support and Industry investment is essential if we want to create an active used EV market in as short a timeframe as possible. We have a huge challenge in reaching emission reduction targets over the next decade and this can only be achieved with the right economic and taxation environment that support the sale of new low and zero emissions vehicles.”