New car sales are still 11% lower than pre-Covid levels, although new car registrations hit 101,745 by the end of September.
The numbers are largely consistent with last year, with experts in the automotive industry blaming continued supply challenges for slowing sales growth.
Despite difficulties in getting new cars into the State, the move to electric continues apace with electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hybrids now accounting for a combined market share of 40.76 percent.
So far this year, 14,513 new electric cars have been registered, up from 7,819 in the same period in 2021, representing an 85.6 percent increase.
Petrol is still the most popular fuel, accounting for 30.09 percent of the market, followed by diesel at 26.99 percent.
However, hybrid cars now make up 19.67 of the new car sales, full-electric models comprise 14.30 percent and Plug-in Electric Hybrid makes up 6.79 percent.
The shortage of new car stock is compounded by a drop in used car imports, which are down 26.8 percent on this time last year, to 37,418.
According to Brian Cooke, Director General of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI): “New vehicle registrations, hampered by global supply issues, continue to remain challenging.”
Toyota remains the best-selling manufacturer, with the Hyundai Tucson being the most popular new vehicle in 2021. The Volkswagen ID.4 is the best-selling EV, followed by the Hyundai Ioniq 5.
In the commercial market, which is typically a leading indicator of broader economic activity, new Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) registrations are down 20.5 percent from last year at 20,974, while new HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) registrations are down 6.3 percent at 2,120.