The number of new private electric cars licensed in Ireland in March rose by 39% year-on-year, to 3,429 units according to new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
A total of 15,130 new private cars were licensed during the month, representing a 5% increase compared with the same month the previous year, the data showed.
Electric vehicles accounted for close to a quarter (23%) of all new private car registrations in the first quarter of the year, up from 17% in the corresponding period a year ago.
The combined share of petrol and diesel cars among the new private cars licensed during the same period stood at 33%, down from 43% a year ago.
Electric cars
“Today’s figures from the CSO show a 39% increase in the number of new private electric cars (EVs) licensed for the first time in March 2026 (3,429) when compared with the same month in 2025 (2,473),” commented Damien Lenihan, statistician in the transport section of the CSO.
“In the first three months of 2026, there was a 37% rise in new private EVs licensed when compared with the same period in 2025 (11,942 vs 8,712). There were 10,820 new petrol cars licensed compared with 13,498 in the same period of 2025, a fall of 20%. Comparing the first three months of 2026 with 2025, the number of new diesel cars licensed fell by 22% (6,709 vs 8,609).”
While fully electric vehicle registrations were up, the number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) licensed in March fell by 7% compared to the same month the previous year (2,049 vs 2,202).
The month also saw a notable increase in used and imported car registrations, which rose by 34% year-on-year, the CSO said.
Most popular
The data shows that Volkswagen was the most popular make of new private car licensed in March 2026, with 1,966 units, followed by Toyota (1,504), Skoda (1,436), Kia (1,031), and Nissan (928). Collectively, these five makes accounted for 45% of all new private cars licensed in March 2026.
The most popular brand of new EV in the month was the Tesla Model Y (249 units), followed by the Volkswagen ID.4 (230), and the Tesla Model 3 (217). Read more here.
