By Chris Ashmore
NEW electric car registrations plunged by almost a third in Donegal in 2024, according to figures just released.
The decline is being attributed to a combination of factors, namely a lack of charging points, the limited range (distance) of some models, affordability – electric cars are considerably more expensive to purchase – a lack of consumer confidence in electric cars, and some negative commentary.
The end of year figures released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry show that the number of new electric cars registered in Donegal in 2024 was 208, down 31.8 per cent on the corresponding 12 months of 2023.
Nationally, the decline in new electric car registrations was 23.6 per cent.
However, total new car registrations in Donegal rose for the fourth successive year in 2024, according to figures just released. The number of new cars registered in the county last year was 2,765, up 7.25 per cent on the levels for 2023.
Nationally, the total number of new car registrations in 2024 stood at 121,195, a slight decrease of 1 per cent on the 2023 figure.
Imported used cars saw 61,583 registrations in 2024, an increase of 21.4 per cent on 2023 (50,716).
The latest figures also show that 17,459 new electric cars were registered in 2024, a decrease of 23.6 per cent from the 22,852 registrations seen in 2023.
Petrol cars accounted for 30.31 per cent of the market, diesel were at 22.80 per cent, while hybrids were 20.92 per cent, electric 14.41 per cent, and plug-In hybrid 10.02 per cent.
Last year Toyota was the best selling make in Donegal, with 425 cars registered, a market share of 15.37% per cent, with Kia next on 408 (14.76 per cent). The previous year, the top two had been the other way round.
Between them the top five – Toyota, Kia, Volkswagen, Skoda and Hyundai – had more than 50 per cent market share in the county.
Among the makes with the biggest percentage increase in sales – compared with the previous year – were Renault (up 56.82 per cent), Audi (up 47.92 per cent) Dacia, (up 40.85 per cent) and Nissan (up 37.31 per cent).
However, it should be pointed out that there can be considerable year-on-year fluctuations, often being influenced by the introduction of a new or updated model, or on the flip side, by the discontinuation of an old model.
And, of course, if a car is coming from a low base in terms of sales, the percentage change can look startling.
By way of example, Cupra (a subsidiary of SEAT) saw registrations in Donegal surging by 666.67 per cent from just six units in 2023 to 46 last year.
Luxury brand Lexus had a 310 per cent increase in Donegal registrations, up from ten in 2023 to 41 last year.
Among the biggest drops were Honda, down 71.43 per cent, with registrations dipping from seven to just two, SEAT, down 38.24 per cent from 102 to 63 units and Volvo, down 30.56 per cent, from 72 to 50.
Automatic transmissions accounted for 61.3 per cent of registrations in Donegal last year while manual transmissions have declined to 38.7 per cent.
In Donegal, just over 32 per cent of cars registered were hatchbacks, 29.91 per cent were MPVs, while 22.46 per cent were station wagons (estates).
Commenting on the end of year statistics, Brian Cooke, SIMI Director, stated: “The key feature of the 2024 new car market was the decline in Electric Vehicle (EV) sales, a reduction of 24 per cent compared to 2023.
There has, 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.”
Nationally, the top selling electric vehicle brand was Tesla, followed by Volkswagen, Kia, Hyundai and a more recent arrival to the Irish market in the form of the Chinese manufactured Byd.
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