Tesla leads rebound in new electric car registrations during February
President Donald Trump and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk at the White House in front of a red Model S Tesla.
Following a slump last year, the market for new electric cars appears to be bouncing back with a 38% increase in electric car registrations during the month of February, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.
Last month saw a slight increase in the overall number of new cars registered, up 3% to 14,394 compared to February last year. However, the number of new electric cars licensed during the month increased to 2,853 compared to 2,067 last year.
This means the share of electric cars among new private cars stood at 20%.
The most popular new electric car during February was the Tesla Model 3, with 313 registered, followed by the Volkswagen ID.4 at 246, and the Kia EV 3 AT 192.
The number of new plug-in hybrid electric cars licensed in February grew by 65% to 2,179. This has increased the share of plug-in hybrid electric cars among new private cars to 15%.
The combined share of petrol and diesel cars among newly registered private cars, during the first two months of the year, has fallen to 42% compared to 51% during the same period last year.
According to the CSO data, Toyota was the most popular brand of car during February with 2,024 new cars registered, followed by Hyundai at 1,481, and Volkswagen at 1,363.
In Ireland, there were 353 new Tesla’s registered for the first time during the month of February which is a 33.7% increase compared to the same month last year.
The increasing number of new Tesla’s registered in Ireland comes amid a slowdown in the company’s sales across other European countries.
Tesla’s sales fell for the 10th time in the last 12 months in Europe where Elon Musk’s politicking and a changeover of the carmaker’s most important product have been major hindrances.
The company registered 16,888 new cars in February, down 40% from a year ago, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. Tesla’s sales plunged 43% in the first two months of the year, deviating from the 31% rise in industry wide electric car registrations.
The figures show Tesla dug a deep hole for itself before the company started deliveries of the redesigned Model Y — its most popular vehicle — in the first week of March.
The carmaker is counting on the refreshed model to drum up business even as Mr Musk, its chief executive officer, has become a more polarising figure as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump.
Overall new-car sales in the region dipped 3.1% in February as uncertainty about the economy prompted consumers to hold back on bigger purchases. The drop was driven by a 24% decline in registrations of gasoline-powered vehicles and a 28% decrease in those with diesel engines.
Europe’s carmakers are facing another tough year in their home market as a prolonged downturn in the region’s biggest economies weighs on consumer confidence. At the same time, the threat of US tariffs and intense competition from Chinese automakers led by BYD are adding to the pressure.
