Large increase in number of new electric car registrations in Westmeath and Roscommon

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has released their official new vehicle registrations statistics for 2023, revealing that the number of new electric car registrations increased by 33.6% in Westmeath and by 14.95% in Roscommon in 2023.

A total of 274 new electric cars (EV's) were registered Westmeath in 2023 in comparison to just 205 in 2022. In Roscommon, 123 electric cars were registered last year and 107 were registered in 2022.

Meanwhile, the registration of non EV cars rose by over 12% in Roscommon in 2023 as 1124 cars were registered last year and 1003 were registered the previous year.

In Westmeath, 1650 new cars were registered last year, in contrast to 1530 in 2022.

Total new car registrations for 2023, finished at 121,850 +16% on 2022 (105,398) and up 4% on 2019 (117,109).

SIMI Director General, Brian Cooke, said:

“2023 was a year of progress for the Irish Motor Industry, both in terms of new vehicle registrations and electric vehicle sales. New car registrations finished at 121,850 units, up 16% on last year and 4% ahead of pre-COVID 2019. The growth in electric vehicle sales continued into 2023, with an increase in market share from 15% in 2022 to nearly 19% in 2023. This represented a 45% increase in EV sales for the year.

"We do expect to see some growth in EV sales again in 2024, but key to this will be the ongoing Government support, both in terms of vehicle and taxation incentives and investment in a fit for purpose charging infrastructure. The mix in the new car market however, from electric to hybrid to more traditional engine types, highlights the diverse nature of Irish motorists’ driving requirements, and reducing the age of the national fleet, as well as moving to zero emission vehicles, will be vital if we want to get close to Ireland’s climate goals. The commercial vehicle sector both light and heavy vehicles also delivered a solid performance in 2023. Light commercial vehicles finished 25% ahead of last year and Heavy Goods Vehicles saw a 20% increase on 2022.”

Automatic transmissions now account for (64.54%) of market share, while manual transmissions have declined (35.35%).

The hatchback continues to remain Ireland’s top selling car body type of 2023. While grey retains the top selling colour title for the eight year running.

New Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) registrations in 2023 saw an increase of 25.1% (29,403) compared to 2022 (23,510) and a 16.1% increase on 2019 (25,336). While New Heavy Commercial Vehicle registrations (HGV) saw an increase of 20.4% (2,655) in comparison to 2022 (2,205) and 19.9% on 2019 (2,214).

Imported Used Cars saw 50,716 registrations in 2023, an increase of 9.09% on 2022 (46,490) and a decrease of 55.48% on 2019 (113,926).

A total of 22,789 new electric cars were registered in 2023, an increase on the 15,678 registrations seen in 2022 (+45.4%) and 3,444 in 2019 (+561.7%).

Market share for 2023 saw Petrol account for 30.07%, Diesel 22.16%, Electric 18.70%, Hybrid 18.54% and Plug-In Hybrid 8.28%. Petrol continues to remain the most popular engine type for 2023, while Electric, Hybrid, and Plug-in Hybrid account for 45.5% of the market.