Drop in number of new car registrations in County Roscommon
Nationally new electric car registrations have seen a sharp rise of 36 percent.
New car registrations for February in County Roscommon were down over 5% when compared to the previous year, the latest figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry has revealed.
Last month saw 454 new registrations compared to the previous year of 481 amounting to a decrease of 5.61 percent.
Similarly in County Mayo, there were five less new registrations dropping from 850 to 845 amounting to less than a 0.59 percent fall while in Sligo there was a fall of 5.93 percent as 460 new registrations were recorded compared to the 489 in the same month 12 months previously.
County Leitrim saw a 2.39 percent increase with 214 compared to 209, Westmeath’s figures rose to 718 from 709 while Galway recorded 2,066 new car registrations compared to 1918, an increase of 7.72 percent.
Electric car registrations remained static in County Roscommon with 30 recorded last month, the same as in the previous February. Reflecting the national mood Mayo saw an increase of 44.83 percent rising to 84 from 58; Sligo a 30 percent rising from 50 up to 65; Westmeath had 104 new electric car registrations up from 71 12 months previously, a jump of 46.48 percent, while figures in County Galway rose by 27.18 percent to 248 from the February 2024 figure of 195.
However County Leitrim bucked the national trend with a drop of 5.88 percent which in fact was just one new registration as 16 were recorded last month compared to 17 the previous year.
Nationally new registrations were down 15% (14,012) when compared to February 2024 (16,432) (which had an extra day of trading). Overall registrations year to date are also down 0.8% (47,483) on the same period last year (47,850).
However electric car registrations have seen a sharp rise. In February 2,524 new electric cars were registered, which was 36% higher than the 1,856 registrations in February 2024. So far this year, 7,447 new electric cars have been registered representing a 25.1% increase compared to the same period in 2024 when 5,949 electric cars were registered.
In the new car market share by engine type for 2025, petrol cars continue to lead the new car market at 27.88%, followed by hybrid (petrol electric) at 23.76%, diesel at 16.65%, electric at 15.68%, and plug-in electric hybrid at 14.30%.
The five top selling new car brands for far in 2025 are Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Skoda, and Kia while the top selling electric brands are Kia, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Tesla, and Nissan.
Commenting on the latest figures Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General stated: “Following a strong start in January, new car registrations have seen some retraction in February, with registrations declining by 15%, while year to date registrations are now marginally behind last year.
“However, going against this trend has been electric vehicles, with an increase in EV sales of 36% in February to 2,524 units, with private consumers, who benefit from the SEAI Grant, contributing two thirds of EV sales this year. The importance of Government supports is key to maintaining this momentum, particularly with a greater range of EVs coming on stream. Commercial vehicle registrations have seen a decline, with LCV sales, which had been down in January, also down by 8% in February, and HGVs registrations down 3%.”
