The overall number of new private cars licensed in February 2026 fell by 5% when compared with February 2025 (13,660 vs 14,394).
The number of used (imported) cars licensed increased by 40% in February 2026 when compared with February 2025 (7,654 vs 5,454).
The number of new private electric cars licensed in February 2026 rose by 8% when compared with February 2025 (3,074 vs 2,853). This means the share of electric vehicles (EVs) among new private cars from January to February 2026 was 22% compared with 17% in the same period of 2025.
The number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) licensed in February 2026 was comparable with February 2025, showing a small rise of 10 vehicles (2,189 vs 2,179). There was also a slight increase in the year-to-date share of PHEVs among new private cars going from 15% in 2025 to 16% in 2026.
The combined share of petrol and diesel cars among new private cars licensed from January to February 2026 fell in comparison with 2025 (42% vs 31%).
Overall, Toyota was the most popular make of new private car licensed in February 2026, while Volkswagen ID.4 was the most popular make of electric car.
The number of new goods vehicles was up by 11% in February 2026 when compared with February 2025 (3,466 vs 3,116).
On a seasonally adjusted basis, new private cars licensed were down by 16% in February 2026 compared with January 2026. The number of seasonally adjusted used (imported) private cars licensed went down by 2% 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 | February | January - February | |||||||
| 2025 | 2026 | Change | 2025 | 2026 | Change | ||||
| New vehicles | |||||||||
| New Private Cars | 14,394 | 13,660 | -734 | -5% | 36,878 | 37,891 | 1,013 | 3% | |
| New Goods Vehicles | 3,116 | 3,466 | 350 | 11% | 5,465 | 6,353 | 888 | 16% | |
| New Tractors | 231 | 300 | 69 | 30% | 466 | 639 | 173 | 37% | |
| New Motor Cycles | 184 | 208 | 24 | 13% | 424 | 501 | 77 | 18% | |
| New Exempt Vehicles | 792 | 722 | -70 | -9% | 1,494 | 1,442 | -52 | -3% | |
| New Other | 265 | 268 | 3 | 1% | 476 | 448 | -28 | -6% | |
| Total New Vehicles | 18,982 | 18,624 | -358 | -2% | 45,203 | 47,274 | 2,071 | 5% | |
| Used (imported) vehicles | |||||||||
| Used private cars | 5,454 | 7,654 | 2,200 | 40% | 10,281 | 14,682 | 4,401 | 43% | |
| Used goods vehicles | 881 | 1,071 | 190 | 22% | 1,802 | 2,121 | 319 | 18% | |
| Used tractors | 215 | 225 | 10 | 5% | 444 | 482 | 38 | 9% | |
| Used motorcycles | 222 | 244 | 22 | 10% | 370 | 459 | 89 | 24% | |
| Used other vehicles | 517 | 542 | 25 | 5% | 933 | 1,071 | 138 | 15% | |
| Total used vehicles | 7,289 | 9,736 | 2,447 | 34% | 13,830 | 18,815 | 4,985 | 36% | |
| Total all vehicles | 26,271 | 28,360 | 2,089 | 8% | 59,033 | 66,089 | 7,056 | 12% | |
Figure 2 In February 2026, 8% of all new private cars licensed were electric.
| Most popular makes of new cars, February 2026 | |
| Toyota | 15 |
| Kia | 10 |
| Volkswagen | 10 |
| Hyundai | 9 |
| Skoda | 7 |
| Other | 50 |
| Most popular make of new electric model cars,February 2026 | |
| VolkswagenID.4 | 9 |
| ToyotaBZ4X | 5 |
| KiaEV 3 | 4 |
| KIAEV5 | 4 |
| Other | 74 |
| KiaEV 6 | 3 |
| X-axis label | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Jan - Feb 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <1 year old | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1-2 years old | 11 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| 3-5 years old | 56 | 36 | 29 | 27 | 23 |
| 6-9 years old | 25 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 37 |
| Over 10 years old | 7 | 14 | 19 | 23 | 31 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (11 March 2026) published Vehicles Licensed for the First Time for February 2026.
Commenting on the data, Damien Lenihan, Statistician in the Transport Section of the CSO, said: “Today’s figures from the CSO show an 8% increase in the number of new private electric cars (EVs) licensed for the first time in February 2026 (3,074) when compared with the same month in 2025 (2,853). We also saw growth in the licensing of hybrid vehicles which were up 21% from 3,289 in February 2025 to 3,985 new private cars in February 2026.
The total number of used (imported) private cars licensed in February 2026 rose by 40% compared with the same period in 2025 (7,654 vs 5,454). There were 1,714 used (imported) diesel private cars licensed in February 2026, compared with 1,450 in the same period of 2025. Used (imported) private petrol cars licensed went up by 28% in February 2026 compared with February 2025 (3,081 vs 2,404).
In the first two months of 2026, there was a 36% rise in new private EVs licensed when compared with the same period in 2025 (8,513 vs 6,239). There were 7,320 new petrol cars licensed compared with 9,593 in the same period of 2025, a fall of 24%. Comparing the first two months of 2026 with 2025, the number of new diesel cars licensed went down by 23% (4,664 vs 6,079).
The total number of new goods vehicles licensed for the first time in February was 3,466, an increase of 11% on February 2025 (3,116). The year-to-date number of new goods vehicles is 6,353, up 16% from 5,465 new goods vehicles licensed for the first time in February 2025.
Most Popular Makes
Data also shows that Toyota was the most popular make of new private car licensed in February 2026 at 2,008 vehicles, followed by Kia (1,324), Volkswagen (1,313), Hyundai (1,260), and Skoda (972). Together, these five makes represented 50% of all new private cars licensed in February 2026 (See Table 4).
The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in February 2026 was Volkswagen ID.4 (275), followed by Toyota BZ4X (166), and Kia EV 3 (123) (See TEM28 for further information).”