There’s a clear trend towards battery electric and hybrid electric cars among Irish consumers, according to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry.
They now account for nearly two-thirds of the market.
While there was a 9.7% decline in sales of new battery electric cars in June to 1,123 cars compared to the same period last year, so far this year 20,164 new electric cars have been registered, representing a 48% increase compared to the same period in 2025.
That’s according to the latest new vehicle registration statistics – a proxy for sales – from SIMI.
Hybrid cars, which combine a combustion engine with an electric motor, take up the biggest share in market at almost 26% of new car sales, followed by battery electric at 23% and petrol at 21%.
Diesel cars account for less than 13% of new vehicle sales.
Calling the increasing popularity of electric cars a “fundamental market development”, SIMI’s Director General Brian Cooked noted that only seven years ago petrol and diesel cars accounted for 88% of registrations – now shrinking to less than 34% of the market.
SIMI expects further growth in battery electric car sales in July.
Tesla 3 was the top selling new car in June, as Elon Musk’s company saw sales rising across Europe last month, recovering from last year losses.
Tesla registrations rose 39% in Denmark, 56% in Sweden and 5.6% in Spain.
So far this year, Toyota and Volkswagen were the most popular brands among Irish consumers purchasing new cars.
While new car registration were down 9.7% in June year-on-year, the number of imported used cars jumped by almost 43% compared to last year.
“Overall, the new car market outturn for the first half of the year was positive, with 85,203 new cars sold, an increase of 4% on the first six months of last year,” said Mr Cooke said.
