Number of new private electric cars licensed rose by 118%, figures show

Published: Wed 10 Jun 2026, 12:13 PM

Last updated: Wed 10 Jun 2026, 12:14 PM

The number of new private cars licensed in May 2026 rose by 32%, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

There was also a significant rise in the number of new private electric cars licensed in May, a rise of 118% compared with May 2025.

The total number of used and imported cars licensed in May grew by 22%, with the share of electric vehicles among imported cars being 10%. This was an increase of 6% compared with 2025.

When it came to petrol and diesel cars, the combined share of these among new private cars was down by 10% compared with May 2025.

The most popular make of new private cars licensed in May was Toyota, while the Volkswagen ID.4 was the most popular make of electric car.

Damien Lenihan, Statistician in the Transport Section, said: “Today’s figures from the CSO show a 118% growth in the number of new private electric cars (EVs) licensed for the first time in May 2026 (3,010) when compared with the same month in 2025 (1,382). We saw an increase in the licensing of hybrid vehicles, which were up 55% from 1,763 in May 2025 to 2,727 new private cars in May 2026.

“The total number of used (imported) private cars licensed in May 2026 rose by 22% compared with the same period in 2025 (7,519 vs 6,144). There were 1,475 used (imported) diesel private cars licensed in May 2026, compared with 1,539 in the same period of 2025. Used (imported) private petrol car licenses went up by 6% in May 2026 compared with May 2025 (2,739 vs 2,588).

“In the first five months of 2026, there was a 52% rise in new private EVs licensed when compared with the same period in 2025 (18,041 vs 11,877). We can also see that almost a quarter (24%) of all new private cars licensed between January and May were electric.

“Over the same five-month period, there was a fall of 19% in the number of new petrol cars licensed (15,952 vs 19,717). Similarly, a 22% decrease in the number of new diesel cars licensed was seen over the same period (9,749 vs 12,485).

“The total number of new goods vehicles licensed for the first time in May was 3,135, down 9% on May 2025 (3,453). There were 17,147 new goods vehicles licensed from January to May 2026, which was an increase of 12% on the 15,312 licensed over the same period of 2025.”