October new electric cars licences up by more than 50%, says CSO  

The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in October was the Tesla Model Y, according to CSO figures. 

The total number of new private electric cars licensed in Ireland last month increased by more than 50% when compared with October 2024. 

Overall there were 4,096 cars licensed in October, 3% higher than in 2024, according to the CSO. So for in the first 10 months of the year there have been 118,058 new private cars registered, 4% higher than 2024.

There were 1,144 EVs licensed for the month, up from 751 in 2024. The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in October was the Tesla Model Y (115), followed by the Tesla Model 3 (83), and the Volkswagen ID.4 (81).

“Today’s figures show a 52% increase in the number of electric cars licensed for the first time compared with the same month in 2024," said CSO statistician in the transport section Damien Lenihan. "We also saw growth in the licensing of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) which were up 23% from 500 in October 2024 to 616 vehicles in October 2025."

The share of EVs among new private cars licensed from January to October 2025 was 19% compared with 14% in the same period of 2024.

The number of used (imported) cars licensed increased by 26% (6,898 vs 5,454) in October.

Overall, Volkswagen was the most popular make of new private car licensed in the month, followed by Toyota (413), Skoda (405), Kia (310), and Hyundai (249).

On a seasonally adjusted basis, new private cars licensed decreased by 1% in October 2025 compared with September 2025. The number of used (imported) private cars licensed went up by 4% over the same period.