New figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry show a 55% jump in the number of new electric cars registered during the month of October.
Today’s SIMI figures show that 1,092 new electric cars (battery electric cars) were registered, up from 706 registrations in October 2025.
So far this year, a total of 36,270 new electric cars have been registered, which marks a 57% increase from the same month last year when 23,082 electric cars were registered.
Overall new car registrations for October were up 15% to 2,501 from 2,180 in October of last year. Registrations year to date are up 6% to 130,754 on the same time last year when a total of 123,855 new cars were registered.
Today’s figures also reveal a 15% hike in Imported Used Cars, with the number registered rising to 7,831 in October compared to 6,791 in October last year.
Year to date imports are up 32% to 79,969 from 60,452 the same time last year.
SIMI said that in the new car market share by engine type, battery electric cars lead with 27.74%, followed by hybrid (petrol electric) at 23.54%, petrol at 19.43%, plug-in hybrid at 14.99% and diesel at 12.31%.
Emma Mitchell, Operations Director at SIMI, said that demand for new battery electric vehicles remained strong in October, helped by Government support and market offerings.
“Year-to-date battery electric cars (BEV) sales reached 36,270 units, a 57% increase on the same period last year. Growth is being seen across the country, including strong increases in both urban and rural areas, with 61% of new electric cars registered outside Dublin this year,” Ms Mitchell said.
“BEVs are now the most popular powertrain for Irish new car buyers so far this year,” she added.
The SIMI figures show that the five top selling new car brands so far this year are Toyota, Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai and Kia.
The five top new car models are the Toyota Yaris Cross, the Hyundai Tucson, the Skoda Octavia, the Kia Sportage and the Skoda Kodiaq.
Meanwhile, the five top selling new electric vehicles brands were Kia, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Tesla and Skoda.
The five top selling new EV models were the Volkswagen ID.4, the Tesla Model Y, the Skoda Enyaq, the Tesla Model 3 and the Skoda Elroq.
The top selling new car in October was the Volkswagen ID.4, while it was also the top selling EV car last month.
