New Electric Vehicle Demand Outpaces New Electric Purchases in 2023 to date

Key Highlights

• DoneDeal, Ireland’s largest car website, has found that share of demand for new electric vehicles (EVs) on site currently stands at 23% when compared to other internal combustion engine (ICE) fuel types such as diesel, petrol and hybrid  (“Demand” on DoneDeal is defined as a weighted mix of ad views, ad saves and ad enquiries).
• This 23% electric demand share number on DoneDeal compares with actual new fully electric vehicles (EVs) purchased up to September 2023 amounting to 18% of total car purchases, as per SIMI data.
• As of October 2023, there were over 2,440 fully electric 2023 vehicles for sale from car dealerships on DoneDeal.
• Up to September 2023, 21,703 fully electric vehicles had been registered in Ireland out of a total of 118,353 passenger cars registered in total (SIMI).
• This data suggests that there is pent up demand or desire amongst new car buyers in Ireland for EVs and that more people are searching and in market for EVs than currently end up purchasing them.
• Since the beginning of 2023, demand for new EVs is up 45% YoY and an electric vehicle (the Volkswagen ID.4) is the most popular new car across all fuel types.
• DoneDeal also has found that for the first time ever, electric vehicles make up 50% of the top ten most in demand premium new cars over €50,000.
• Ireland’s most popular premium new car being an EV, coupled with the strong representation in the top ten of other EVs and increases in demand on DoneDeal, presents an optimistic picture for the future of electric vehicles.

DoneDeal’s data suggests that there is pent up demand or desire amongst new car buyers in Ireland for EVs and that more people are searching and in market for EVs than currently end up purchasing them.

Car site DoneDeal has found that electric vehicles (EVs) have 23% share of demand for new cars in October 2023, its highest since the beginning of the year. With hybrids close behind at 21%, together they claim a combined market share of 44% of new car demand.

Electric vehicles currently account for 18% of new cars registered this year in Ireland up to September 2023 (SIMI data). However, a clear gap exists between this figure and the 23% share of demand they command with new car buyers on DoneDeal. This data underscores a gap between the Irish appetite for electric vehicles and their current level of actual registrations in 2023.

This data suggests that there is pent up desire amongst new car buyers in Ireland for EVs and that more people are searching and in market for EVs than currently end up purchasing them.

As of October 2023, there were over 2,440 fully electric 2023 vehicles for sale from car dealerships on DoneDeal. Up to September 2023, 21,703 fully electric vehicles had been registered in Ireland out of a total of 118,353 passenger cars registered in total (SIMI).

Share of demand for new petrol cars currently stands at 26% on DoneDeal. However, as per SIMI data new petrol cars account for 30% of the new cars on our roads (SIMI). This suggests that car buyers initially have intent or preference to purchase something other than a petrol vehicle but ultimately ended up buying petrol.

The pressing  questions that arise are: what are the barriers to electric driving in Ireland and why is there a disparity between market demand and the reality of EV adoption? 

DoneDeal’s data suggests that demand certainly isn’t the issue when it comes to the EV phenomenon. Since the beginning of 2023, demand for new EVs is up 45% YoY and an electric vehicle (the Volkswagen ID.4) is the most popular new car across all fuel types amongst consumers on DoneDeal.

DoneDeal has also found that, for the first time ever, electric vehicles make up 50% of the top ten most in demand premium new cars over €50,000 amongst consumers on DoneDeal. This represents a seismic shift in the desire amongst car buyers to go electric as no petrol car is included  in the top ten.

Along with the Volkswagen ID.4 in the top spot, the Mercedes-Benz EQE and Volkswagen ID.5 also represent electric vehicles in the top five most in demand premium new cars, whilst the Kia EV6 and Mercedes Benz EQB are included in the top ten.

Ireland’s most popular premium new car being an EV, coupled with the strong representation in the top ten of other EVs and increases in demand on DoneDeal, presents an optimistic picture for the future of electric vehicles. However, there is still some way to go before electric vehicles’ presence on our roads catches up with the demand for EVs, as seen on DoneDeal.

Methodology

DoneDeal looked at ad view data for new cars listed on DoneDeal for the period from 2022 and 2023 to derive demand data.