See all Motoring NewsVolkswagen's all-electric SUV has hit the ground running as the most sought after vehicle on the Irish market. The ID.4 rolled out deliveries last month for pre-order's made by eager customers last year. More than 410 units of the ID.4 were registered in March, making it Ireland's best-selling vehicle in the month and giving it 4.44% of the market share.
“Supplies of the ID.3 and ID.4 for Ireland this year are healthy, so we are confident of meeting customer demand for these models, especially since we will see the introduction of the full range of ID.4 models arriving in Volkswagen showrooms in the coming weeks,” said Volkswagen Ireland Brand Director Rodolfo Calixto. Customers can now order from the full suite of ID.4 regular series models, with prices starting from €34,436.
>>View Volkswagen ID.4's for sale on Carzone
Following the ID.4 for passenger car registrations in the month was the all-new Hyundai Tucson which hit 383 registrations in the month. The redesigned SUV is certainly following in the footsteps of its previous version and proving popular among Irish motorists.
Top 10 selling passenger cars March 2021
- Volkswagen ID.4
- Hyndai Tucson
- Volkswagen Tiguan
- Toyota Corolla
- Hyundai Kona
- Ford Focus
- BMW 5 Series
- Skoda Octavia
- Skoda Kodiaq
- Toyota RAV4
New car registrations overall for March were up 54.3% (9,270) when compared to March 2020 (6,006) but down 44.45% (16,687) on March 2019. For the month of March 1,046 new electric vehicles were registered compared to 369 in March 2020. So far this year 2,831 new electric cars have been registered in comparison to 1,650 on the same period 2020. Electric Vehicle and Plug-in Hybrids and Hybrids continue to increase their market share, with their combined market share now over 11%.
Market share by engine type
- Diesel 36.58%
- Petrol 32.68%
- Hybrid 17.04%
- Electric 5.87%
- Plug-in Electric Hybrid 5.51%
Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General commenting: “With dealers still able to operate on a click and deliver basis, new car sales are only marginally back on last year. However, this does not tell the real story. The first quarter of each year is the key selling period for the Irish Motor Industry, and new car sales in Q1 when compared to the same period in pre-COVID 2019 are down 25%, or nearly 16,000 cars. This represents lost revenue to the sector in excess of €500 million and lost taxation to the Exchequer of €170 million. With the lockdown now extended into April, the Industry will struggle to make up this lost business. In this context and in light of dealers’ ability to transact in a low risk outdoor environment, it is vital that we do re-open at the start of May to allow dealers sell both new and used cars, and to protect local employment. On a more positive note, it is encouraging to see the increases in the sale of Electric Cars and PHEVs despite the restricted trading environment.”