New car registrations rose by almost 43% in May compared to the same month last year, according to new figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).
Last month, 7,557 new cars were sold, compared to 5,295 in May 2022.
So far this year, new car registrations are up 18% to 74,542 compared to the same period last year.
“New car sales rose again in May compared to the same month last year, and new car sales are now approaching pre-Covid levels,” said Brian Cooke, CEO of SIMI.
“Some easing of supply difficulties has resulted in improved delivery times, and this has led to significant growth, particularly in electric vehicle (EV) registrations,” he added.
In May, 1,725 new electric vehicles were registered, 132% more than the same month last year.
Between January and May, 12,875 new electric cars were registered, 55% more than in the same period last year.
Electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hybrids continue to increase their market share, with a combined share so far this year of nearly 43%.
Petrol remains the most popular, accounting for more than 32% of new cars sold, while diesel accounts for just over 22%.
Hybrids accounted for 17.5%, while electrics accounted for just over 17% and plug-in electric hybrids nearly 8%.
Today’s figures show that the top selling new car models were the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Yaris Cross and Volkswagen ID.4.
Meanwhile, the top EV models were the Volkswagen ID.4, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Tesla Model Y, Skoda Enyaq and Kia EV6.
