Electric and hybrid cars increase market share

A fifth of all new cars registered in the first five months of 2022 have been electric or hybrid.

The CSO says 75,000 new cars have been registered so far this year. Compared to May 2021, this year saw less cars being registered - however so far this year there's been a 3 percent increase in new registrations. Of those, 21 percent are electric or plug-in hybrid, and 26 percent are diesel - which compares to 37 percent for the same period last year. In the period looked at there were just over 7,300 used diesel cars licenced - in the same time last year - that total stood at more than 20,000. Of the used cars that are being licenced for the first time - 44 percent are 6 to 9 years old, which compares to last year with 3 to 5 year old cars making up 56 percent of use car purchases.