New car registrations drop in Mayo

New car registrations for July have fallen 1.6 percent in Mayo when compared to 2023, and 5.9 percent nationally.

From January to July in 2023, there were 1808 new car registrations in county Mayo. There have been 1779 in the same period this year.

Electric vehicle registrations have also dropped in Mayo during the same period, from 222 to 118 in 2024.

According to newly-released figures from the Society of Irish Motor Industry, the importation of used cars has seen an increase of 32.2 percent this July compared to last. 

It also revealed that petrol cars lead the new car market at nearly 32 percent, followed by diesel at 22.9 percent. Hybrid was next, with electric and plug-in electric hybrid being the least popular.

Meanwhile, new Electric Vehicle (EV) registrations, which are down and now back to 2022 levels. Last year saw several EV incentives reduced, including the SEAI Purchase and Home Charger Grants, while Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) for company EVs is scheduled to increase significantly in 2025.  

Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General, commented: “The 242-registration plate sales period is, as is always the case in July, an exciting and optimistic period for the Irish Motor Industry. However, July has continued the trend of recent months, with a decline in new car sales. 

“Year to date, new car registrations are now marginally behind the first seven months of last year.  Light commercial vehicles registrations also saw a decline in sales for July, but the activity remains strong, and sales are ahead of last year for both the light and heavy commercial fleet.”

Mr Cooke said we are at a ‘critical juncture’ on the journey to zero emission vehicles, but need ‘decisive actions’ in the Budget to ‘arrest this slide and to reignite Ireland’s EV momentum’. 

He called for an extension of the BIK incentive at current levels and increasing the SEAI Grants back to 2022 levels until the EV market recovers. “Budget 2025 is a real chance for the Government to signal their commitment to fleet electrification and is an opportunity they should grasp,” he concluded.

See the full list of figures below.