It was a busy start to the year for Northern Ireland’s car retailers with a jump in sales reported in January.
Latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed that 4,687 new cars were registered during the month, up 12.6% on the year.
The move follows a relatively solid performance for the market in 2022 where the market recovered from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and apes similar rises across other regions. Across the UK as a whole, 131,714 new cars were registered in January, up 14.7% on the year.
Part of the increase has been put down to an easing in the supply chain logjam for new cars as a result of a shortage of semi-conductors as a result of the pandemic. Long lead times mean some cars ordered months, or in some cases years ago, are only now being delivered.
SUVs remain the most popular new car and dominate the leaderboard of the most popular models in Northern Ireland led by Volkswagen T-Roc which sold 125, the Hyundai Tucson which sold 118 and the Ford Fiesta which sold 109. The MG HS, the most popularly car registered in the UK as a whole, was in fourth place with 99 sold in Northern Ireland.
Unsurprisingly given the jump in the price of fossil fuel over the last year, the popularity of electric and hybrid vehicles continues to grow.
Battery Electric Vechicles, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles and Hybrid Electric Vehicles all recorded an increase in sales in January while the number of new diesel cars sold fell by 12%. Perhaps surprisingly, the number of petrol cars registered climbed by 14.6% to 58,973 across the UK.
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