EV NEWS
TENTATIVE SIGNS EMERGE OF A TURNAROUND IN EV SALES IN ROI TOWARDS THE END OF 2024, AND THE INDUSTRY IS ANTICIPATING AN INCREASE IN EV SALES IN 2025… Irish EV registrations fall by over a fifth in 2024
A total of 17,459 new electric cars were registered in the Republic of Ireland in 2024, representing a decrease of 23.6% from 22,852 registrations in 2023. Electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars collectively accounted for over 45% of the market, comprising 14.41% for electric vehicles (EVs), 20.92% for hybrids and 10.02% for plug-in hybrids. Petrol cars continued to lead the market with a 30.31% share followed by diesel with 22.8%, according to official new vehicle registration statistics for 2024 published by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI). New car registrations totalled 121,195, down 1% on 2023, while registrations of new light commercial vehicles increased by 7% to 30,786 and heavy commercial vehicles by 8% to 2,865. Imported used cars rose 21.4% to 61,583 registrations in 2024. Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General, said, “The key feature of the 2024 new car market was the decline in electric vehicle sales, a reduction of 24% compared to 2023. There have, however, been some tentative signs of a
turnaround in EV sales towards the end of 2024, and the industry is anticipating an increase in EV sales in 2025. “The start of the new registration period, 251, this week, is an optimistic time for the Irish motor industry. With the variety of incentives and offers from retailers and manufacturers, it is a good time for customers to shop for a new or used car.” New EV sales rose by 48.7% year on year to 296 cars in December 2024, while the top selling EV models in 2024 were the Tesla Model 3, Volkswagen Id.4, Tesla Model Y, Kia Ev6 and Hyundai Kona. The UK Government has, meanwhile, been urged to stand firm against calls to relax targets in its UK Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, which has propelled EV’s market share from 16.5% to 19.6% in 2024. NI’s Department for Infrastructure is jointly responsible for enacting the mandate. A new consultation was launched in December 2024 to shape the 2030 petrol and diesel car phase-out, looking at the design of flexibilities around the percentage of new zero emission cars
and vans manufacturers will be required to sell each year up to 2030. Anna Krajinska, Director of clean energy advocate T&E UK, said, “Carmakers are meeting the ZEV mandate despite all the complaints. The result is a growing UK EV market and lots of cheaper models for consumers to go electric. “The Government must stand firm against calls to water down the law and instead focus on delivering a robust industrial strategy for the automotive sector. “Backtracking now on the ZEV mandate will endanger the £23bn in EV investments that has been committed to the UK. These investments are vital for driving economic growth and safeguarding high-quality UK automotive jobs. It would also undercut investment certainty that the charging industry needs to build out infrastructure.” Charging company Pod Point has also cautioned against relaxing the mandate, citing weak demand for new cars as a factor in a drop in its revenue against projections for 2024. www.simi.ie www.transportenvironment.org
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IRELAND’S ELECTRICAL MAGAZINE | 55
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