Electric vehicle registrations soar 69% in August – SIMI

There has been another significant rise in the number of new electric vehicle registrations, new figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry show.

The new SIMI figures reveal that there were 2,126 new electric cars registered in August, an increase of 69.3% on the same month last year.

It follows jumps of 57% in July, compared to the previous year, and an 81.9% increase in June, compared to the same month in 2024.

The SIMI report shows that so far this year, 20,656 new electric cars have been registered, representing a 37% increase on the first eight months of last year.

Overall in August, there were 7,615 cars with 252 number plates registered, which equates to a 1% increase on the same month last year.

For the year-to-date, new car registrations are up 3.4% from 112,229 during the same period last year to 116,099, as of the end of last month.

The registration of Light Commercial Vehicles increased by 56.7% to 2,660 in August, with the figure for LCVs so far this year up 2.8% to 27,593.

The registration of Heavy Goods Vehicles rose by 19.9% to 205 compared to August 2024, but for the year-to-date, the figure was down 9.1% to 2,233.

The data also showed that the number of Imported Used Cars registered last month was 9.9% higher than the same month last year at 5,964, with the category so far this year up 9.48% on the same period in 2024 to 46,662.

The Director General of SIMI has called on the Government to introduce measures in Budget 2026 to “build on the momentum” behind electric vehicles.

Brian Cooke said the number of new electric vehicle registrations means “electric car sales have now recovered to 2023 levels.”

“This recovery in EV sales is one that we must build upon and would not have been possible without Government incentives,” he added.

Mr Cooke said with Budget 2026 fast approaching, the Government must recommit to the EV project.

He called for the current incentives to be extended including the SEAI Grant, Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) relief, and the 0% Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) threshold.

The SIMI boss also urged the Government to consider additional targeted measures, which focus on the business sector or the second-hand EV market.

“In addition, investment in the high-powered public charging infrastructure is vital,” he said.

“The Battery Electric Vehicle market is still developing, and any diminution of support will negatively impact widespread EV adoption, which is such a critical part of achieving our climate change goals. Now is the time to invest in the EV project,” he added.

When broken down based on engine type, the SIMI report shows that petrol cars continue as the new car market leader so far this year at 26.31%.

22.35% of the registrations were hybrid (petrol electric) at 22.35%, followed by electric at 17.79%, diesel at 17.26%, and plug-in electric hybrid at 14.72%.

Today’s SIMI figures show that the top selling new car in August was the Skoda Octavia, while the top selling new electric car was the BYD Sealion.

The top five selling new car brands so far this year have been Toyota, Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai and Kia.

The five top new car models are the Hyundai Tucson, the Skoda Octavia, the Toyota Yaris Cross, the Kia Sportage and the Toyota RAV4.

Meanwhile, the five top selling new EV brands were Volkswagen, Kia, Hyundai, Tesla and Skoda.

The top selling new EV model were the Volkswagen ID.4, the Kia EV3, the Tesla Model 3, the Kia EV6 and the Hyundai Inster.