Van registrations up 17.5 per cent this year

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) today released its official 261 new vehicle registration statistics for March, which shows Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) increased by 13.5 per cent (4,463) compared to March last year (3,931). Year to date, LCVs are up an impressive 17.5 per cent (15,654).

Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) registrations are also up 10.2 per cent (302) in comparison to March 2025 (274). For the year to date, HGVs are down 6.5 per cent (971).

New bus and coach registrations so far this year have more than doubled compared to last year, with 288 registrations for Q1 2026 vs 142 in 2025.

Ford leads the LCV market for the year to date, with 3,006 units registered in Q1. This is followed in the top five by Renault (2,254), Volkswagen (2,108), Toyota (1,777) and Peugeot (1,321).

The Renault Trafic was Ireland’s best-selling new van for the first quarter of 2026, with 1,148 registrations.

Brian Cooke, SIMI director general, commented: “The commercial sector saw a positive uptake in registrations for March. Light commercial vehicles (LCVs) increased by 13 per cent, and Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) experienced their first month of growth this year, with a 10 per cent increase on March last year.”