Figures recently released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders in the UK highlight the difference between the developing UK and Irish car parcs, with some interesting anomalies. 

Year-to-date in the UK there have been 1,761,962 registrations, up 18.6% of the equivalent 2022 figure of 1,485,601. Ytd registrations in Ireland stand at 121,525, 15.39% up on 2022. 

UK - YTD by power type:
Petrol                        990,606      56.3%
Battery EV                286,846      16.3%
Hybrid EV                 222,655      12.6%
Diesel                       132,706       7.6%
Plug-In Hybrid EV   129,149       7.3%

Ireland - YTD figures, adjusted to match UK categories: 
Petrol                                    36,629        30.1%    
Diesel                                    26,978        22.2%    
Hybrid EV                             24,983        20.6%  
Battery EV                            22,598        18.6%    
Plug-In Electric Hybrid       10,337          8.5%    
                 
The major discrepancy between the figures is the performance of diesel vehicles. In Ireland, although diesel sales are declining, they remain at close to a quarter of the market, where as in the UK, diesel sales have dropped to well below 10%. While battery electric sales are broadly at similar market shares in the UK and Ireland, it is also noticeable that Irish drivers have embraced hybrid and plug-in hybrid technology in greater numbers, with a joint share of 29.04% compared to 19.9% in the UK. 

YTD best selling models UK:  
Ford Puma                46,434
Nissan Qashqai        39,068
Vauxhall Corsa         37,826
Kia Sportage             34,620
Hyundai Tucson       32,301

YTD best selling models Irl:  
Hyundai Tucson        5,234
Kia Sportage              3,649    
Toyota Corolla           3,197    
Toyota Yaris Cross    3,045    
VW ID4                        2,921    

It is interesting to note that while traditional marques such as Ford and Vauxhall remain popular in the UK, they have fallen away in Ireland. For example, the Ford Puma only ranks 18th in the popularity list in Ireland, while the Opel equivalent of the Vauxhall Corsa comes in at 58th. 

The figures also point the way to vehicles that may appear in Ireland as used imports in the years to come. Traditionally, Ireland has been a destination for many diesel cars that have fallen out of favour in the UK. However, as these figures indicate, with fewer diesels being registered in the UK, this source of second hand diesel cars may be drying up. Although import numbers are substantially down, the make-up of imports next year is likely to switch more towards petrol and Hybrid.