Electric car sales rising, say CSO figures

Central Statistics Office figures show that the share of electric-only new cars sold in the first four months was more than double that of the same period in 2021.

Its latest figures show that the share of electric-only new cars sold in the four month period was more than double that of the same period in 2021 with 6,748 vehicles sold, compared with 3,026 last year.

There was an overall increase of over a fifth in the number of new cars licensed for the first time in the month of April, the CSO’s figures show.

10,045 new cars were licensed in the month – an increase of 22% on April of last year.

In the first four months of 2022, 51,374 new private cars were licensed, an increase of 8% compared with the same period last year.

Just over a quarter of new private cars licensed in that period were diesel, compared with 37% in the same period in 2021.

Brexit and supply chain constraints continued to impact the sector which is especially apparent in the second hand car market.

The CSO figures show that there was a reduction of 40% on the number of used private cars imported and licensed in April compared with the same month last year.

The number of used cars coming in here between January and April declined by 45% compared with the same period in 2021.