Electric cars increase share of market to 27%

Transport minister Darragh O'Brien recently announced a new scrappage scheme to further support EV adoption. The €10m pilot scheme will provide motorists with €5,000 allowance towards the purchase of a new battery electric car.

Electric cars increased their market share of newly licensed vehicles during May with total registrations reaching 3,010, representing growth of 118% compared to last year.

For the second month in a row, electric cars held the highest share of cars licensed for the first time at 27% beating out petrol-hybrid and petrol vehicles. During April, 26% of cars licensed for the first time were fully electric.

There has been a renewed surge in people adopting electric cars in recent months as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East impacts oil markets sending the costs at the petrol and diesel pumps higher.

In total, there were 11,063 new private cars licensed during May — an increase of 32% compared to May 2025.

Along with the rising number of electric cars registered, the number of hybrid vehicles licensed for the first time in May increased 55% to 2,727. However, the number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles licensed fell by 2% compared to last year to 1,389.

The number of imported used cars licensed grew by 22% in May 2026 to 7,519.

During the first five months of the year, there were 18,041 new private electric cars licensed for the first time — which is a 52% increase year-on-year. Almost a quarter, 24%, of all new private cars licensed between January and May were electric.

The share of electric cars among imported used cars from January to May 2026 was 10% compared with 4% in the same period of 2025.

During the same period last year, electric cars accounted for only 16% of new private cars licensed. The year-to-date share of plug-in electric cars in 2026 stands around 15% — similar to last year.

The combined share of petrol and diesel cars among new private cars licensed during this period was down to 34% compared to 44% last year. 

The number of new petrol cars licensed stood at 15,952 — down from 19,717. The number of new diesel cars licensed also fell from 12,485 to 9,749.

Overall, Toyota was the most popular brand of new private car licensed last month with 2,011 cars, followed by Volkswagen, Skoda, Kia, and Hyundai. Together, these five makes represented 58% of all new private cars licensed in May.

The Volkswagen ID.4 was the most popular make of electric car.

Electric car scheme

Electric car sales may be bolstered through the rest of the year following news that the Government is considering introducing a pilot scrappage scheme to incentivise further adoption. The €10m pilot scheme will provide motorists with €5,000 allowance towards the purchase of a new battery electric car.

The scheme, announced by transport minister Darragh O'Brien, will open on July 1 and is aimed at encouraging motorists who own petrol or diesel cars more than 13 years old to replace them.

Under the initiative, motorists who permanently scrap a vehicle that is more than 13 years old will qualify for a €5,000 scrappage allowance. The payment can be combined with the existing €3,500 electric car purchase grant, bringing total support to €8,500.

However, the scheme will not apply to second-hand vehicles.