Electric vehicles account for 15% of all new cars licensed this year 

Latest CSO figures on vehicles licensed for the first time in February show that in the first two months of 2023, 15% of all new cars licenced were electric.

The number of new electric cars licensed in the first two months of 2023 rose by 26% on the same time last year, as the market share for EVs now stands at 15%. Picture: John Walton

The number of new electric cars licensed in the first two months of 2023 rose by 26% on the same time last year, as the market share for EVs now stands at 15%.

Latest CSO figures on vehicles licensed for the first time in February show that in the first two months of 2023, 15% of all new cars licensed were electric.

This is an increase on the 12% recorded over the same period last year, and has risen sharply from a 1% market share in 2018.

Nele van der Wielen, Statistician in the Transport Section of the CSO, said that the figures “show the continued growth in the number of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles licensed in Ireland”.

4,563 new electric cars were licensed in January and February this year, an increase of 26% on the 3,642 new EVs licensed in the first two months of 2022.

The number of new petrol cars licensed in January and February 2023 (10,525) increased by 10% on figures for the same period last year (7,886), while at the same time the number of new diesel cars licensed in January and February 2023 decreased by 10%.

The market share of new diesel cars in the first two months of the year fell to 22%, from 24% a year previously, and down from a 54% market share in 2018.

Overall, the total number of new cars licensed last month (13,284) was down 3% on February 2022 figures (13,643).

While the number of new private cars licensed last month was near to pre-pandemic levels, the number of used (imported) private cars licensed in February of this year was less than half of that recorded in February 2019.

3,986 used cars were licensed for the first time last month, compared to 8,674 in February 2019, and the number of used cars licensed in the first two months of 2023 decreased by 4% compared with the same period in 2022.

Toyota was the most popular make of new private car in February 2023, as 1,801 Toyota vehicles were licensed last month - followed by Hyundai (1,762), Volkswagen (1,250), Kia (1,061) and Skoda (866).

Together, these five makes represent just over half (51%) of all new private cars licensed in February 2023.