Mayo saw a big increase in new car registrations in 2025
Mayo was one of the strongest performing counties in terms of an increase in new vehicle registrations last year, showing growth of 7.09% in 2025 compared to 2024.
Only Carlow, Laois, Galway and Kildare had a higher percentage change as Mayo, like those counties, comfortably outperformed the national average.
According to the figures released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), total new car registrations for 2025 reached 124,954 – representing a 3% increase when compared to 2024 (121,316).
A total of 2,191 units were registered in Mayo during the year.
Nationally, new LCV (light commercial vehicle) registrations in 2025 saw an increase of 7% (32,779) compared to 2024 (30,669), while new HGV (heavy goods vehicle) registrations decreased by 5.1% (2,715) in comparison to 2024 (2,862).
Imported used cars saw 71,813 registrations in 2025, an increase of 16.6% on 2024 (61,583), and there were 23,601 new electric cars registered in 2025, an increase of 35.1% from the 17,460 registrations seen in 2024.
Petrol remains the most popular engine type of choice for 2025, despite a decline in market share. Electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles have gained momentum, accounting for over 56% of the market. The market share for each propulsion type is as follows: petrol 25.11%, hybrid 22.48%, electric 18.89%, diesel 17.09%, and plug-in hybrid 14.82%.
Automatic transmissions account for 75.25% of the market share in 2025, while manual transmissions have declined to 24.73%.
The hatchback continues to remain Ireland’s top-selling car body type of 2025, while grey has retained the top-selling colour title for the tenth year running.
Commenting on the figures, Brian Cooke, SIMI director general, stated: “The new car market in 2025 finished in line with projection as new car registrations reached 124,954 units – an increase of 3% on 2024. Battery-electric cars reached 23,601 units, an increase of 35% on 2024 – the highest level of sales annually, surpassing the previous record year of 2023, with an increase in registrations in every county. This, along with the increase in plug-in hybrid registrations, meant that Ireland comfortably surpassed the 2025 Climate Action Plan targets. Hybrid-electric vehicles also continued to gain momentum in 2025, while traditional fuels (petrol and diesel) have seen a decline in their market share.
“The 261 sales period has now commenced, and the Irish motor industry is optimistic for the year ahead. Retailers and manufacturers have a variety of offers and different models available for both new and used cars to suit all buyers, making it a good time to shop around.”
The five top selling new car brands last year were Toyota, Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai and Kia. The five top new car models were Hyundai Tucson, Skoda Octavia, Kia Sportage, Toyota Yaris Cross and Toyota RAV4.