The number of new private electric cars licensed in August 2026 rose by 57% when compared with August 2025 (3,763 vs 2,394). This means the share of electric vehicles (EVs) among new private cars from January to August 2026 was 27% compared with 18% in the same period of 2025.
The total number of new private cars licensed in August 2026 increased by 17% when compared with August 2025 (10,924 vs 9,355).
The number of used (imported) cars licensed grew by 34% in August 2026 when compared with August 2025 (8,084 vs 6,048). The share of electric vehicles (EVs) among used (imported) cars from January to August 2026 was 11% compared with 4% in the same period of 2025.
The number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) licensed in August 2026 grew by 35% in comparison with August 2025 (2,049 vs 1,522). The year-to-date share of PHEVs in 2026 among new private cars was 15%, which is comparable with the same period in 2025.
The combined share of petrol and diesel cars among new private cars licensed from January to August 2026 was down in comparison with 2025 (32% vs 44%).
Overall, Toyota was the most popular make of new private car licensed in August 2026, while Volkswagen ID.4 was the most popular model of electric car.
The number of new goods vehicles was up 7% in August 2026 when compared with August 2025 (2,856 vs 2,673).
On a seasonally adjusted basis, new private cars licensed were up 7% in August 2026 compared with July 2026. The number of seasonally adjusted used (imported) private cars licensed increased by 4% over the same period.
Registration and licensing figures may differ in a given month for a number of reasons, some of which are outlined below:
| Table 1 Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class | |||||||||
| Taxation Class | August | January - August | |||||||
| 2025 | 2026 | Change | 2025 | 2026 | Change | ||||
| New vehicles | |||||||||
| New Private Cars | 9,355 | 10,924 | 1,569 | 17% | 107,239 | 112,390 | 5,151 | 5% | |
| New Goods Vehicles | 2,673 | 2,856 | 183 | 7% | 23,037 | 25,761 | 2,724 | 12% | |
| New Tractors | 217 | 210 | -7 | -3% | 1,875 | 2,142 | 267 | 14% | |
| New Motor Cycles | 260 | 290 | 30 | 12% | 2,154 | 2,347 | 193 | 9% | |
| New Exempt Vehicles | 766 | 802 | 36 | 5% | 5,308 | 5,410 | 102 | 2% | |
| New Other | 184 | 181 | -3 | -2% | 2,165 | 2,030 | -135 | -6% | |
| Total New Vehicles | 13,455 | 15,263 | 1,808 | 13% | 141,778 | 150,080 | 8,302 | 6% | |
| Used (imported) vehicles | |||||||||
| Used private cars | 6,048 | 8,084 | 2,036 | 34% | 46,015 | 62,194 | 16,179 | 35% | |
| Used goods vehicles | 976 | 800 | -176 | -18% | 8,265 | 8,370 | 105 | 1% | |
| Used tractors | 209 | 205 | -4 | -2% | 1,841 | 1,903 | 62 | 3% | |
| Used motorcycles | 253 | 315 | 62 | 25% | 2,058 | 2,374 | 316 | 15% | |
| Used other vehicles | 627 | 635 | 8 | 1% | 4,759 | 5,365 | 606 | 13% | |
| Total used vehicles | 8,113 | 10,039 | 1,926 | 24% | 62,938 | 80,206 | 17,268 | 27% | |
| Total all vehicles | 21,568 | 25,302 | 3,734 | 17% | 204,716 | 230,286 | 25,570 | 12% | |
Figure 2 In August 2026, 34% of all new private cars licensed were electric.
| Most popular makes of new cars, August 2026 | |
| Toyota | 15 |
| Volkswagen | 12 |
| Skoda | 10 |
| Kia | 9 |
| Hyundai | 6 |
| Other | 49 |
| Most popular make of new electric model cars, August 2026 | |
| KiaEV2 | 4 |
| KiaEV5 | 3 |
| VolkswagenID.4 | 7 |
| Other | 79 |
| MG MGS5 | 3 |
| TeslaModel Y | 3 |
| X-axis label | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Jan - August 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <1 year old | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1-2 years old | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 11 |
| 3-5 years old | 36 | 29 | 27 | 25 | 25 |
| 6-9 years old | 42 | 42 | 42 | 39 | 34 |
| Over 10 years old | 14 | 19 | 23 | 26 | 30 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (10 September 2026) published Vehicles Licensed for the First Time for August 2026.
Commenting on the data, Damien Lenihan, Statistician in the Transport Section of the CSO, said: “Today’s figures from the CSO show a 57% growth in the number of new private electric cars (EVs) licensed for the first time in August 2026 (3,763) when compared with the same month in 2025 (2,394). Licensing of hybrid vehicles increased by 9% from 1,928 in August 2025 to 2,110 new private cars in August 2026.
The total number of used (imported) private cars licensed in August 2026 rose by 34% compared with August 2025 (8,084 vs 6,048). There were 1,444 used (imported) diesel private cars licensed in August 2026, compared with 1,437 in the same period of 2025. Used (imported) private petrol cars licensed went up by 24% in August 2026 compared with August 2025 (3,098 vs 2,508).
The total number of new goods vehicles licensed for the first time in August 2026 was 2,856, up 7% on August 2025 (2,673).
Year-To-Date
In the first eight months of 2026, there was a 57% rise in new private EVs licensed when compared with the same period in 2025 (30,559 vs 19,469). We can also see that more than a quarter (27%) of all new private cars licensed between January and August 2026 were electric. Over the same eight-month period, there was a fall of 21% in the number of new petrol cars licensed (22,357 vs 28,431). Similarly, there was a 23% decrease in the number of new diesel cars licensed (13,952 vs 18,215).
There were 25,761 new goods vehicles licensed from January to August 2026, which was an increase of 12% on the 23,037 licensed over the same period of 2025.
Most Popular Makes
Data also shows that Toyota was the most popular make of new private car licensed in August 2026 at 1,587 vehicles, followed by Volkswagen (1,293), Skoda (1,047), Kia (1,002), and Hyundai (646). Together, these five makes represented 51% of all new private cars licensed in August 2026 (See Table 4).
The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in August 2026 was Volkswagen ID.4 (274), followed by Kia EV2 (149), and Kia EV5 (126) (See TEM28 for further information).”