More than one in five cars sold in January were electric vehicles, writes Brian Byrne. It marked the highest monthly volume of EVs to date, with 7,319 new electric cars registered, a 48.7 per cent increase from 4,923 in January 2025. For the first time, EVs surpassed the number of petrol-engined vehicles sold.
According to figures released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, overall new car registrations for January rose by 3.3 per cent (34,604) compared to January 2025 (33,499). Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) increased by 21.6 per cent (7,579), while Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) registrations declined by 16.6 per cent.
Imported used cars rose by 43.5 per cent (8,041). In the new car market, hybrid (petrol-electric) has taken the lead for the first time at 28.28 per cent, followed by electric at 21.15 per cent, petrol at 20.94 per cent, plug-in hybrid at 14.56 per cent, and diesel at 12.48 per cent. Automatic transmissions account for 78.74 per cent of the market share.
