Huge rebound in electric car sales in Louth in January

Electric car (EV) sales in Louth saw a huge rebound in January after a steep decline last year, with petrol cars also seeing a decline, the latest figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) have shown.

SIMI on Tuesday released its official 251 new vehicle registration statistics for January, and the figures show that 868 new cars were registered in Louth in January, a 5.5% increase on the 823 that were registered in the county in January 2024. 

119 new EVs were registered in Louth in January, a 21.4% increase on the 98 that were registered in January 2024. The number of petrol electric Hybrids registered in January also saw a significant increase, with 262 registered, an 18.6% increase on the 221 registered in the same period last year.

The biggest increase in Louth in January, was in the number of petrol/plug-in electric hybrids registered. 91 were registered in January, more than double the 40 registered in January 2024. There was a fall however in both the number of petrol cars and diesel cars registered in Louth last month.

294 petrol cars were registered in the county in January, down 7.8% on the 319 registered in January 2024. Diesel cars saw an even bigger fall, with 100 registered, a 28.6% decrease on the 140 registered in January 2024. 

Nationally, the new vehicle registration statistics for January show a promising start to the year for the motor industry. New car registrations for the month of January were up 7%, with 33,521 cars registered, compared to 31,407 in January 2024. EV sales experienced a record-breaking month with the highest sales recorded to date, with 4,925 registrations in January representing a 20% increase when compared to 4,093 in January 2024. 

In the new car market share by engine type, petrol cars remain the leader, despite a decline in share, at 28.24%, followed by petrol electric hybrid at 24.89%, diesel at 16.31%, electric at 14.69% and plug-in electric hybrid at 14.17%. 

Imported used cars saw a 5% rise in January 2025 with 5,604 motors registered, when compared to January 2024 when 5,325 were registered.

Light Commercial Vehicles (LGVs) are down 16%, with 6,270 vehicles registered compared to January last year when 7,478 were registered, while HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) registrations are showing an increase of 8%, with 489 vehicles registered compared to 454 in January 2024.

Commenting on the figures, SIMI Director General, Brian Cooke, said: "The new car market has started positively, with 33,521 new cars registered in January, an increase of 7% on the same month last year. For the commercial sector, registrations were mixed, with Light commercial vehicles (LCV) experiencing a decline of 16%, while Heavy Goods registrations (HGVs) saw an increase of 8% on last year. 

"Most notably, battery technology cars (BEV, PHEV, HEV) all saw significant growth, with their combined market share exceeding over half (55%) of the market. In particular, Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) sales surged in January, with 4,925 registrations, up 20% on the same period last year, the highest monthly total number of EVs sold, although their overall market share of 15% has yet to reach 2023 levels (19%).

"The underlying EV market continues to be dependent heavily on private sales which benefit from SEAI grant support, highlighting the importance of ongoing Government incentives to help stimulate the market. However, while there is cautious optimism over the trajectory of EV sales, one good month of sales does not necessarily define the whole year, and we still have a long way to go in the transition to electrification.

"The supply of EVs is there, with more newer EV models coming on stream across a range of price-points, so the focus must be clearly on supporting demand in what is still a relatively new market.”