The number of new private electric cars licensed in July 2026 rose by 82% when compared with July 2025 (7,216 vs 3,973). This means the share of electric vehicles (EVs) among new private cars from January to July 2026 was 26% compared with 17% in the same period of 2025.
The total number of new private cars licensed in July 2026 increased by 2% when compared with July 2025 (20,322 vs 19,923).
The number of used (imported) cars licensed grew by 28% in July 2026 when compared with July 2025 (8,508 vs 6,640). The share of electric vehicles (EVs) among used (imported) cars from January to July 2026 was 11% compared with 4% in the same period of 2025.
The number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) licensed in July 2026 decreased by 5% in comparison with July 2025 (2,926 vs 3,080). The year-to-date share of PHEVs in 2026 among new private cars was comparable with 2025 at 15%.
The combined share of petrol and diesel cars among new private cars licensed from January to July 2026 was down in comparison with 2025 (33% vs 44%).
Overall, Toyota was the most popular make of new private car licensed in July 2026, while the Volkswagen ID.4 was the most popular make of electric car.
The number of new goods vehicles was up 16% in July 2026 when compared with July 2025 (3,428 vs 2,945).
On a seasonally adjusted basis, new private cars licensed were up 6% in July 2026 compared with June 2026. The number of seasonally adjusted used (imported) private cars licensed remained comparable 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 | July | January - July | |||||||
| 2025 | 2026 | Change | 2025 | 2026 | Change | ||||
| New vehicles | |||||||||
| New Private Cars | 19,923 | 20,322 | 399 | 2% | 97,884 | 101,466 | 3,582 | 4% | |
| New Goods Vehicles | 2,945 | 3,428 | 483 | 16% | 20,364 | 22,905 | 2,541 | 12% | |
| New Tractors | 254 | 257 | 3 | 1% | 1,658 | 1,932 | 274 | 17% | |
| New Motor Cycles | 383 | 364 | -19 | -5% | 1,894 | 2,057 | 163 | 9% | |
| New Exempt Vehicles | 877 | 894 | 17 | 2% | 4,542 | 4,608 | 66 | 1% | |
| New Other | 269 | 256 | -13 | -5% | 1,981 | 1,849 | -132 | -7% | |
| Total New Vehicles | 24,651 | 25,521 | 870 | 4% | 128,323 | 134,817 | 6,494 | 5% | |
| Used (imported) vehicles | |||||||||
| Used private cars | 6,640 | 8,508 | 1,868 | 28% | 39,967 | 54,110 | 14,143 | 35% | |
| Used goods vehicles | 1,201 | 1,004 | -197 | -16% | 7,289 | 7,570 | 281 | 4% | |
| Used tractors | 269 | 256 | -13 | -5% | 1,632 | 1,698 | 66 | 4% | |
| Used motorcycles | 311 | 330 | 19 | 6% | 1,805 | 2,059 | 254 | 14% | |
| Used other vehicles | 700 | 768 | 68 | 10% | 4,132 | 4,730 | 598 | 14% | |
| Total used vehicles | 9,121 | 10,866 | 1,745 | 19% | 54,825 | 70,167 | 15,342 | 28% | |
| Total all vehicles | 33,772 | 36,387 | 2,615 | 8% | 183,148 | 204,984 | 21,836 | 12% | |
Figure 2 In July 2026, 36% of all new private cars licensed were electric.
| Most popular makes of new cars, July 2026 | |
| Toyota | 13 |
| Volkswagen | 12 |
| Skoda | 10 |
| Hyundai | 9 |
| Kia | 7 |
| Other | 48 |
| Most popular make of new electric model cars, July 2026 | |
| ToyotaBZ4X | 4 |
| VolkswagenID.4 | 6 |
| HyundaiKona | 4 |
| Other | 79 |
| ToyotaC-HR | 3 |
| HyundaiInster | 4 |
| X-axis label | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Jan - July 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <1 year old | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1-2 years old | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 11 |
| 3-5 years old | 36 | 29 | 27 | 25 | 24 |
| 6-9 years old | 42 | 42 | 42 | 39 | 35 |
| Over 10 years old | 14 | 19 | 23 | 26 | 30 |
Check the rankings of new vehicles for the most recent month as well as year
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (11 August 2026) published Vehicles Licensed for the First Time for July 2026.
Commenting on the data, Damien Lenihan, Statistician in the Transport Section of the CSO, said: “Today’s figures from the CSO show an 82% growth in the number of new private electric cars (EVs) licensed for the first time in July 2026 (7,216) when compared with the same month in 2025 (3,973). Licensing of hybrid vehicles decreased by 3% from 4,598 in July 2025 to 4,469 new private cars in July 2026.
The total number of used (imported) private cars licensed in July 2026 rose by 28% compared with July 2025 (8,508 vs 6,640). There were 1,564 used (imported) diesel private cars licensed in July 2026, compared with 1,614 in the same period of 2025. Used (imported) private petrol cars licensed went up by 14% in July 2026 compared with July 2025 (3,200 vs 2,799).
In the first seven months of 2026, there was a 57% rise in new private EVs licensed when compared with the same period in 2025 (26,796 vs 17,075). We can also see that more than a quarter (26%) of all new private cars licensed between January and July 2026 were electric. Over the same seven-month period, there was a fall of 22% in the number of new petrol cars licensed (20,620 vs 26,454). Similarly, there was a 24% decrease in the number of new diesel cars licensed (12,687 vs 16,681).
The total number of new goods vehicles licensed for the first time in July 2026 was 3,428, up 16% on July 2025 (2,945). There were 22,905 new goods vehicles licensed from January to July 2026, which was an increase of 12% on the 20,364 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 July 2026 at 2,733 vehicles, followed by Volkswagen (2,443), Skoda (1,973), Hyundai (1,869), and Kia (1,520). Together, these five makes represented 52% of all new private cars licensed in July 2026 (See Table 4).
The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in July 2026 was the Volkswagen ID.4 (464), followed by Hyundai Inster (279), and Toyota BZ4X (269) (See TEM28 for further information).”