New car sales in February are up 5.3 per cent on the same month last year despite Level 5 Covid lockdown restrictions. The number of new cars registered by the motor trade itself rose by 670 to 1,932 last month compared to February last year. However, the hire-drive market is still flat, with just 176 new registrations compared to 1,719 in February 2020. The best-selling brand so far this year is Toyota, with 5,547 registrations, ahead of Hyundai with 4,142, Volkswagen with 3,989, and Skoda with 3,455. In contrast, hybrid sales now account for over 25 per cent, while sales of new all-electric cars now account for 4.9 per cent.

Source: The Irish Times March 02, 2021 12:29 UTC