EVs add to ‘solid’ January registrations

About 470 battery electric vehicles (BEVs), 208 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and 828 hybrid vehicles were registered in January – representing 11.2% of the fleet with some form of drivetrain electrification, according to the Motor Industry Association (MIA).

Of the 454 light vehicle and 16 heavy vehicle BEVs registered in January, top selling models were the Hyundai Kona (78 units) followed by the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (59 units) and the BMW i (42 units), MIA chief executive David Crawford says. 

Top sellers among the 208 PHEVs registered in January were the MG HS (53 units) followed by the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (46 units) and the Kia Sorrento (20 units).

The Honda Jazz (149 units) topped the 828 hybrids registered last month, followed by the Toyota Yaris (87 units) and Toyota RAV 4 (77 units). 

That’s among 13,514 sales of new vehicles for January 2022, a decrease of 2.73% (379 units) on the same month in 2021, the new vehicle industry body explains.

The MIA says the market is solid despite stock levels remaining low. “Recent shipments of new vehicles have helped to alleviate some of the long wait lists for popular models, while other brands suffered from supply constraints.”

Passenger vehicles (8953) were down 7.8% on January a year ago, partly affected by tighter lending restrictions for private purchases, the MIA adds.