Electric vehicles claim top spot in Irish new car market
Michael McAleer
All-electric cars are now the best sellers on the Irish new car market, with over double the registrations of diesel models.
EVs now account for 26 per cent of the new car market, ahead of regular petrol hybrids on 24.6 per cent, petrol cars on 20.4 per cent, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) on 14.5 per cent and diesels on 12.5 per cent.
New car registrations for July under the new 262 number plate were up 8.63 per cent on the same month last year, with 29,046 new cars sold. Total registrations up to the end of July are up 5.2 per cent at 114,228.
Brian Cooke, director general of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) said the highlight of the market is clearly the performance of EVs, with 9,682 registered in July, a 98 per cent increase when compared to July 2025.
“This increase in BEV sales would not have been achieved without Government supports. In particular, the Government’s pilot scrappage scheme, introduced in July, along with the existing BEV grant supports, has helped build on market momentum,” he said.
The Government’s ICE2EV scrappage scheme, introduced in July, offered motorists up to €8,500 (€5,000 scrappage payment plus the existing €3,500 EV grant) towards a new electric car if they traded in a petrol or diesel vehicle that was at least 13 years old. It was funded with €10 million on a first-come, first-served basis and closed within hours after reaching its application limit.
According to Cooke: “The record increase in EV sales is proof that incentives work, not just in urban areas, but also for rural motorists who received the majority of scrappage grants. The increase in BEV sales is evident in every county.”
Toyota remains the best-selling new car brand with 15,823 registrations so far this year, ahead of Volkswagen on 13,388, Skoda on 11,138, and Hyundai on 9,957, while the most popular model amongst new car buyers is the Toyota Yaris Cross.
In the EV market, Volkswagen is in the lead, ahead of Kia, Hyundai, Skoda and Tesla. The best-selling EV remains the VW ID.4, followed by Toyota’s BZ4X.
Despite the surge in EV sales, the best-selling new car in July was the Skoda Octavia, with 63 per cent of those sold diesel and the rest petrol.
