241 Editor’s Note

It’s been another bumper year for the Irish motor industry with new car sales in 2023 up more than 15% as the market continues to realign after the covid lock down supply chain issues have been properly put behind us. 

Market analysts predict that sales will remain buoyant in 2024, albeit a more modest gain of around 5% is more likely, still a very healthy situation for the industry.

The move to electric vehicles is gathering pace with almost half of all new cars purchased including some sort of electric motor, whether hybrid or full electric, as the consumer and manufacturers become fully invested in the technology.

This clamour for electric power is driving innovation and providing even greater choice for the prospective purchaser. And it’s not only the established manufacturers who are peppering their model range with every conceivable segment variant. The recent arrival into the market of MG, Polestar, Ora and BYD – all Chinese-owned brands with electric-only offerings – is an indicator of things to come and new brands are likely to appear in Ireland in the next 12 months. More choice and competition is all good news for the consumer.

In this 241 edition of Drive – New Car Buyer’s Guide we highlight the best of the new and updated models on offer.

As ever, we’ve done our best to ensure that prices are correct at time of press but check with your local dealer for any updated pricing or special offers.  

Declan Quigley
DRIVE Magazine Editor


PUBLISHING INFORMATION


PUBLISHER: Colm Burns. EDITOR: Declan Quigley. PHOTO EDITOR: Georgie Francis. CONTRIBUTORS: Anthony Conlon, Martin, McCarthy, Simon Ives. PRODUCTION MANAGER: Andrew Greeley. PROOF READING: Olif Karrington. PRINTING: Johnswood Press. DISTRIBUTION: Newspread & EM News Distribution.

The entire content of the Drive 241 New Car Buyer’s Guide is copyright 2023 SilverCloud Media, and may not be reproduced in part or in full without the permission of the publisher SilverCloud Media