Ireland’s cumulative new vehicle registrations in January 2021 stood at 19,518 units, down by 20.5pc as compared to 24,545 units in January 2020, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The decline in new vehicle registrations fell in January as the auto sector faced COVID-19-induced lockdown curbs that limited sales operations to ‘click-and-deliver’ services.
Ireland’s private car registrations in January declined by 18pc to 16,948 units as compared to 20,665 units registered during the same month in the previous year.
In January, electric and hybrid cars continued to grow in popularity in the private car segment and contributed 32.9pc to the total new private car registrations as compared to 20.8pc in the same month in 2020.
The proposed Irish legislation in early 2020 to ban the sales of fossil fuel cars in 2030 and its use by 2045 to reduce emissions has given a push to EV and hybrid private car sales.
Toyota (2,824 units) was the most popular choice for new private cars in January 2021, followed by Hyundai (1,901 units), Ford (1,751 units), Volkswagen (1,303 units), and Skoda (1,277 units). These brands together represent 53.4pc of all new private car registrations in January 2021.
Goods vehicle registrations in January stood at 1,529 units, down by 39.9pc as compared to 2,544 units registered in the same month in the preceding year, while registrations of new other vehicles fell by 22.1pc to 1,041 units from 1,336 units registered in Jan 2020.
The global auto industry began slowly reviving as nations eased curbs after September. However, due to the new strain of COVID-19, several European countries have reinstated lockdown measures and closed their border which could affect auto manufacturing and sales.