Ireland’s cumulative new vehicle registrations in February 2021 stood at 15,209 units, down by 12pc as compared to 17,285 units in February 2020, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The country’s private car registrations in February declined by 12pc to 11,672 units from 13,263 units registered during the same month in the previous year. Of the private car segment, the electric and hybrid cars continued to grow in popularity in February and contributed 30.5pc to the total new private car registrations as compared to 18pc in the same month in 2020.
The proposed Irish legislation in early 2020 to ban the sales of fossil fuel cars in 2030 and its use by 2045 to reduce emissions has given a push to EV and hybrid private car sales.
Toyota (1,601 units) was the most popular choice for new private cars in February 2021, followed by Volkswagen (1,289 units), Skoda (1,123 units), Hyundai (1,121 units), and Ford (966 units). These brands together represent 52.3pc of all new private car registrations in February 2021.
Goods vehicle registrations in February stood at 2,349 units, down by 13.9pc as compared to 2,727 units registered in the same month in the preceding year, while registrations of new other vehicles fell by 8.3pc to 1,188 units from 1,295 units registered in the same month a year before.
Semiconductor chip shortage and lockdown imposed to curb the COVID-19 outbreak have put a strain on the auto sector in Europe.
Many countries have reinstated lockdown measures and closed their border which could affect auto manufacturing and sales, as per media reports.