Electric vehicles charge ahead in new-car market

More than double the number of new electric cars were registered in the past month, compared to October 2025

Operations director at SIMI Emma Mitchell describing battery electric vehicle (BEV) demand as 'strong' and 'helped by Government support and market offerings'.

More than double the number of new electric cars were registered in October this year compared to the same month last year.

In the past month, buyers in Ireland registered 1,092 new battery electric cars, bringing the total registered so far this year to 36,270. This represents a 57% increase compared to the same period in 2025.

The top-selling car brands so far this year were Toyota, at number one, followed by Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai, and Kia. The best-selling individual car model also continued to be the Toyota Yaris Cross, followed by the Hyundai Tucson and the Skoda Octavia.

However, in October, the most popular car registered was the Volkswagen ID.4, an electric car.

By engine type, new battery electric cars were the most popular, representing 27.74% of registrations, followed by hybrid (petrol electric) at 23.54%, petrol at 19.43%, plug-in hybrid at 14.99%, and diesel at 12.31%.

These figures were released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), with operations director Emma Mitchell describing battery electric vehicle (BEV) demand as "strong" and "helped by Government support and market offerings".

Emma Mitchell, operations director, SIMI.

"Growth is being seen across the country, including strong increases in both urban and rural areas, with 61% of new electric cars registered outside Dublin this year. BEVs are now the most popular powertrain for Irish new car buyers so far this year," she said.

Across car types, new-car registrations in October were up 15% compared to October 2025 and were up 6% year to date. Light commercial vehicles increased by 2% last month, compared to the previous year, but heavy goods vehicle registrations nearly doubled, with 45% more registrations this October when compared last.

Imported used cars also increased in popularity, with 1,040 more of this kind of vehicle registered in October 2026 compared to the same month in 2025. So far in 2026, imported used cars are up 32% on the same period in 2025.