Northern Ireland new car sales rose slightly in 2022

​NNew car sales in Northern Ireland continued to recover in 2022 but were still well below pre-pandemic levels.

Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed 38,381 new registrations in 2022, up by 5% on 2021.

In 2019, the last year before the pandemic, there were just over 51,500 new cars sold.

Last year, the car industry faced significant supply chain problems which delayed the delivery of vehicles.

There were particularly serious problems obtaining semiconductors, which are used in a vast array of electronic systems, from in-car entertainment to engine management.

​"It's still the long Covid effect," Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said.

"The key issue is global disruption to supply chains.

"The demand we know is there… manufacturers have just really struggled to be able to make vehicles in sufficient quantities."

In the UK as a whole, new car sales fell to their lowest level in three decades.

There were 1.61 million new registrations, the lowest since 1992.

Meanwhile, across the UK sales of electric cars continued to grow.

They rose from 190,700 to 267,000 - with their market share climbing from 11.6% to 16.6%.

In December, that figure rose to just under 33% - although this reflects the timing of shipments from overseas by Tesla.

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