Electric car sales continue their resurgence in September with Tesla leading the pack

In the new car market, petrol cars continue as the leader at, followed by petrol-electric hybrid, electric, diesel, and plug-in electric hybrid

The best selling electric car in Ireland last month was the Tesla Model 3. File photo

Electric car sales continued their resurgence in September with new registrations increasing by 73.2% from a low base during the same month last year, new data from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) shows.

Total new car registrations last month stood at 5,629 which is an increase of 9.5% compared to September 2024. There were 1,737 new electric cars registered last month, an increase from 1,003 during the same month last year.

Between January and September, a total of 121,693 new cars were registered — an increase of 3.7% year-on-year. Of that, electric cars accounted for 22,382, representing a 38.8% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

In the new car market, petrol cars continue as the new car market leader at 25.41%, followed by petrol-electric hybrid at 22.62%, electric at 18.39%, diesel at 17.15%, and plug-in electric hybrid at 14.82%.

SIMI director general Brian Cooke said with the budget coming next month it is “imperative that the State continues to support the battery electric vehicle market if we want to build on this momentum”.

"The current incentives must be extended beyond the end of 2025 to provide certainty to motorists, businesses, and the industry,” he said.

The best selling car overall was the Hyundai Tuscan with the best selling brand overall being Toyota followed by Volkswagen, and Skoda. The best selling electric car last month was the Tesla Model 3 while the best selling electric car brand was Volkswagen followed by Kia, and Hyundai.

Tesla sales

There were 460 new Teslas registered last month, an increase of 81% compared to last year, with 243 of those being their Model 3 and 217 being their Model Y.

Despite Tesla’s sales struggles in Europe over the last year, the company sales rose in France, Spain and Denmark last month for the first time this year, local industry data showed, with the US electric car maker's revamped Model Y coming in as the best-selling model in Denmark.

The company's sales continued to rise in Norway, where electric cars dominate the market, but in Sweden new car registrations — a proxy for sales — showed a ninth straight monthly drop for Tesla. But in September, Tesla reported a 2.74% annual increase in sales in France and a 20.5% rise in Denmark.

In Norway, Tesla's registrations were up 14.7%, with its Model Y and Model 3 taking the top two spots for sales. Tesla sales rose 3.4% in Spain, boosted by a 60% increase in new Model Y registrations.

Tesla has struggled in Europe this year as its small, ageing model line-up has faced growing competition from EVs launched by European and Chinese rivals.

Tesla's competitive problems have been compounded by a backlash by some consumers against its chief executive Elon Musk, who helped bankroll Donald Trump's US presidential election victory last year and has championed European far-right parties.

For January to August, Tesla's sales were down 42.9% year-on-year in the European Union and down 32.6% in Europe as a whole.

Additional reporting Reuters