1,255 new Carlow registered cars in 2023 with electric cars up by a whopping 52%

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) released their official new vehicle registrations statistics for 2023. 

1,255 new cars were registered in Carlow in 2023 compared to 1,187 for the same period in 2022, a 5.73% increase.

The SIMI statistics also shows that 214 electric vehicles were registered in Carlow last year, an increase of 52.86% compared to the 140 electric vehicles which were registered in 2022.

Petrol remains the most popular engine type accounting for 30.07% of the market, with Diesel accounting for 22.16%, Electric 18.70%, Hybrid 18.54% and Plug-In Hybrid 8.28%. Meaning Electric, Hybrid, and Plug-in Hybrid account for 45.5% of the market.  

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. 

Across the country, 121,850 new cars were registered in 2023 compared to 105,398 for the same period in 2022 (+16%) and 117,109 in 2019 (+4%).

22,789 new electric cars registered in 2023 comparison to 15,678 on the same period 2022 (+45.4%) and 3,444 in 2019 (+561.7%).

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).

Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General commented on the report, '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.'