Hybrid engines are now Ireland’s favourite – by far.
Petrol-electrics and plug-in hybrids made up almost half (42%) of new cars sales last month, figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) released yesterday reveal.
Hybrid (petrol-electric) leads at 27.26% as the most popular engine type, followed by petrol (21.84%), electric (20.53%), plug-in hybrid (14.51%) and diesel (13.27%).
There were 15,033 new car registrations last month, which was up 7.4% compared to 13,994 in February last year.
Registrations this year to date are up 4.3% to 49,557 and over 2,000 ahead of last year.
SIMI director general Brian Cooke said: “The move towards electric and hybrid cars is also reflected in the figures; battery electric vehicles (BEVs) reached 2,871 units in February, a 14% increase on the same month last year, while [in the year to date] 10,172 new BEVs have been registered.
“Private consumers account for 75% of BEV sales and remain the main driver of sales, a trend seen across all counties.
Brian Cooke, director general of SIMI.
“New hybrid electric (HEV) and plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) registrations have also seen continued growth for February.”
(Pic: Getty Images)
