Donegal car registrations up almost 20% for January and February on last year

Donegal car registrations are up by 19.51% for the first two months of 2024, compared to the same period last year, the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) confirmed as they released their official 241 new vehicle registrations statistics for February today. 

There have been 1,127 vehicles registered in the county since January 1, compared to 943 for the same period last year.

The top ten selling passenger cars in the county by make this year were Toyota, Kia, Skoda, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Suzuki, Nissan, Puegot, Ford and Opel.

ABOVE: A glimpse at the most popular passenger cars being sold in Donegal at present 

The five most popular cars by make were the Kia Sportage, Toyota Rav 4, Skoda Octavia, Hyundai Tucson and the Toyota C-HR

The top five passenger cars by Engine Type were Petrol (318), Diesel (309), Petrol Electric (280), Electric (92) and Petrol/Plug-in electric (73). 

The five most popular body types in the county for passenger cars were Hatchback, MPV, Estate, Saloon and Jeep.

The top ten most popular passenger car colours in Donegal were Grey, White/Ivory, Black, Blue, Red/Maroon, Green, Orange, Brown, Grey and Black and Blue & Black.

Overall nationally 

New car registrations for February were up 25% (16,455) when compared to February 2023 (13,122). Registrations year to date are up 18.3% (47,882) on the same period last year (40,466). 

ABOVE: New Car registrations in Donegal for the first two months of the year 

Light Commercial vehicles (LCVs) increased by 36.8% (3,515) compared to February last year (2,569). Year to date LCVs are up 35.6% (10,987). HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) registrations are up 14.2% (305) in comparison to February 2023 (267). Year to date HGVs are up 10.3% (763).

Imported Used Cars have seen a 24% (4,945) rise in February 2024, when compared to February 2023 (3,989). Year to date imports are up 32.1% (10,270) on 2023 (7,775).

In February 1,866 new electric cars were registered, which was 15.5% lower than the 2,207 registrations in February 2023. So far this year 5,968 new electric cars have been registered which is a 1.4% increase compared to the same period in 2023 when 5,885 electric cars were registered.

In the new car market share by engine type for 2024, Petrol cars continue to lead the new car market at 32.97%. Diesel is next at 23.76%, then Hybrid (Petrol Electric) at 21.51%, Electric at 12.46%, and Plug-in Electric Hybrid at 7.76%.