According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), electric car sales in the State have witnessed a 20% decrease from January to May 2024, as compared to the same period in 2023. This continuous drop in electric vehicle sales, with only 13% of newly registered cars, equating to 9,458 vehicles, being electric in the first five months up to May end, contrasts with the 18% recorded the previous year.
Factors contributing to this downturn are being attributed to the insufficient charging facilities across several regions coupled with governmental decision to cut the grant for electric vehicles from €5,000 to €3,500.
Simultaneously, new private diesel cars represented almost a quarter of total new car registrations in the initial five months of 2024, a 2% rise from the same period last year, as per the CSO.
Damien Lenihan, a CSO transport section statistician, reports that new petrol vehicles registered in the first five months of 2024, numbered at 24,009, showing an increase of less than 1% as compared to 23,944 in 2023. Adversely, new diesel vehicle registrations saw a larger positive trend, with a 15% increase when comparing the same five-month period from 2023 and 2024.
The vacuum created by this decline in electric vehicle sales seems to be filled by hybrid vehicles. There was a significant 49% growth in sales of petrol and electric hybrids, from 9,864 to 14,712, during the first five months of 2024 in relation to the same timeframe the previous year.
With the global decrease in electric vehicle buyer interest, international auto manufacturers are increasing their investments in hybrid technology. As reported by the Financial Times, consumers perceive the lack of adequate charging infrastructure and sustained high-interest rates as significant detriments to the purchase of fully electric vehicles, which has caused hybrid vehicle sales to rebound. On this note, Toyota has announced a more than 40% increase in its new technology spending following record profits driven by hybrid sales last year.