Diesel still the most popular new car type in Ireland, but electric growing in popularity

Linda Stewart — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 11:31:49 +0000

Diesel remains the most popular choice for a new car in Ireland despite a 9.85% decline in market share in 2021, but hybrid, electric and plug-in hybrid engines are growing in popularity.

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has revealed that 104,932 new cars were registered in Ireland in 2021 compared to 88,325 for the same period in 2020 (+18.8%) and 117,109 in 2019 (-10.40%).

SIMI’s official new vehicle registrations statistics for 2021. also showed that 8,646 new electric cars registered in 2021 comparison to 4,013 on the same period 2020 (+115.4%) and 3,444 in 2019 (+151.0%).

Meanwhile, new Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) registrations in 2021 saw an increase of 32.3% (28,741) compared to 2020 (21,732) and +13.4% 2019 (25,336). New Heavy Commercial Vehicle registrations (HGV) saw an increase of 31.5% (2,716) in comparison to 2020 (2,066) and +2.1% on 2019 (2,659).

Imported Used Cars saw 63,617 registrations, a decrease of 20.4% on 2020 (79,969) and a decrease of 44.2% on 2019 (113,926).

Other stats of note show a changing market place in 2021. Diesel accounted for 33.44%, Petrol 32.16%, Hybrid 16.22%, Electric 8.24%, and Plug-In Hybrid 7.26%. Diesel remains the most popular engine type despite a decline in its market share last year (9.85%) while hybrid, electric and plug-in hybrid continue to gain market share in 2021.

Manual transmissions account for (50.95%) in market share, while automatic transmissions (48.93%) continue to increase their popularity.

The hatchback remains Ireland’s top selling car body type of 2021. Grey is the top selling colour and has continued to keep that title for the past six years.

SIMI Director General Brian Cooke said: “The difficulties arising from both COVID and Brexit impacted on the supply and demand for cars, which made 2021 another challenging year for the Irish Motor Industry. While new car sales show a 19% increase on 2020, they remain behind 2019 levels.

“On a positive note, the sale of Electric Vehicles (EVs) more than doubled in 2021, and with the sale of EVs being underpinned by SEAI Grants, we can expect to see an increasing number of new EVs on Irish roads in 2022. Commercial Vehicles sales also saw a significant improvement in 2021, with light commercial vehicles up over 30% on 2020, reflecting the increase in business confidence as the year progressed.

“The industry is hopeful that 2022 will see further improvements in business levels. Pre-orders do indicate a strong appetite for new and used cars, providing a positive outlook for our Industry and with a return to pre-pandemic 2019 new car sales levels expected.

“However, even these anticipated sales will not be sufficient to reduce Ireland’s ageing car fleet. We need to see significant growth in the years ahead if we want to optimise the benefits of reduced emissions from new cars. We will see annual increases in Electric Vehicle sales, but the extent of their penetration into the fleet will not only be determined by the increased choice of EVs been supplied but also by the continuation of Government supports.”

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UK car production down 41% in October

Linda Stewart — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 10:46:34 +0000

A fall in the number of cars built in the UK has been described by the industry as “extremely worrying”.

Production fell 41% in October compared to the same month a year ago, with 64,729 cars leaving factories.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said it was the fourth straight month of decline and the weakest October since 1956 as firms grappled with the global shortage of semiconductors which led to production stoppages.

Production of the latest battery electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and hybrid (HEV) vehicles accounted for 30% of all cars made in October.

BEV manufacturing increased by 17.5% to 8,454 units, meaning that so far this year, UK car makers have produced more than 50,000 zero-emission vehicles, exceeding the total built in the whole of the pre-pandemic 2019.

Production for domestic and overseas markets fell by 37% and 42% respectively.

Shipped abroad

More than four out of five cars built in the UK were shipped abroad, with most of these (60%) going to the EU.

Shipments to the EU fell by almost a third last month, whilst those to Japan were down 57% and by 67% to the US.

The SMMT said the latest outlook forecasts UK car and light commercial vehicle production to be below one million for the second consecutive year, but to then recover to more than one million in 2022, with the potential to reach 1.2 million in 2024.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “These figures are extremely worrying and show how badly the global semiconductor shortage is hitting UK car manufacturers and their suppliers.

“Britain’s automotive sector is resilient but with Covid resurgent across some of our largest markets and global supply chains stretched and even breaking, the immediate challenges in keeping the industry operational are immense.

“Government can help the industry with measures to boost competitiveness in line with global rivals, notably in tackling high energy costs, supporting employment and training, and helping businesses whose cashflow is under pressure from these historically poor production numbers.”

Supply chain

Richard Peberdy, UK head of automotive at KPMG, said: “Supply chain issues, particularly due to semiconductor shortages, continue to limit production.

“Carmakers are having to prioritise models and markets, and that will continue into 2022.

“Whilst there are fewer cars leaving the factory, those that do are selling quickly and with less discounting than historically required.

“Demand continues to outpace supply, and by the time supply chain issues ease there will likely be a lot of pent-up demand to be met on forecourts.

“But for now that will still feel a long way off for a number of carmakers.”

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Diesel still the most popular new car type in Ireland, but electric growing in popularity

UK car production down 41% in October