EV sales continue to climb as Government urged to build on momentum

Ireland’s electric vehicle market continues its upward trajectory, with both fully-electric passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) seeing a large increase in registrations to date this year.

According to figures released today by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), 2,265 new fully-electric cars were registered in August, which was a seven per cent increase from the 2,115 registrations in August 2025.

So far this year, 32,079 new fully-electric cars have been registered, representing a 55 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2025, when 20,642 electric cars were registered.

The electric LCV market is also enjoying a period of growth, with 1,504 new eLCVs registered to date in 2026, an 11.57 per cent increase on this time last year (1,348). For the year-to-date, overall LCV registrations are up seven per cent (29,604).

Brian Cooke, SIMI director general, urged the Government to use Budget 2027 to invest in incentives to drive the electric change.

“The market shift towards battery electric vehicles is clearly evident, and it is crucial that the Government supports this trend with incentives that build on this momentum in what is still a developing market,” he said.

“Budget 2027 provides the Government with the opportunity to build on the success in BEV sales by extending and retaining the current incentives (the SEAI Grant, Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) relief, and zero per cent Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) threshold) that are vital in sustaining consumer confidence.

“This would enable more households and businesses to make the switch, while also supporting our climate change goals.

“Additional targeted measures like the scrappage scheme, investment in high-powered public charging infrastructure and a focus on the business sectors can also help increase our national fleet and our second-hand BEV market. Now is the time to invest in incentives to drive change,” Cooke added.

In the new car market share by engine type, fully-electric cars lead market position with 26.3 per cent, followed by hybrid (petrol electric) 24.14 per cent, petrol 20.09 per cent, plug-in hybrid 14.85 per cent, and diesel 12.56 per cent.

Despite a slight dip, diesel continues to dominate the new LCV market share by engine type at 90.19 per cent, followed by fully-electric at 5.08 per cent.

Toyota remains the top-selling car brand to date this year, while Kia leads EV sales in Ireland, overtaking Volkswagen and Hyundai.

Elsewhere, SIMI said new car registrations for August were up three per cent (7,811) compared to August 2025 (7,581). Registrations year to date are up five per cent (121,979) on the same period last year (116,068).

Imported used cars have seen a 36 per cent (8,093) increase in August 2026, when compared to August 2025 (5,963). For the year-to-date imports are up 37 per cent (63,815) on 2025 (46,661).

Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) registrations experienced a healthy increase of nine per cent (223) in comparison to August 2025 (205). For the year-to-date, HGVs are down one per cent (2,205).