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The total number of new private cars licensed in May 2025 fell by 16% in comparison with the same period in 2024 (8,403 vs 10,055).
The number of used (imported) cars licensed increased by 10% (6,144 vs 5,592) over the same period.
The number of new electric vehicles (EVs) licensed in May rose by 12% when compared with May 2024 (1,382 vs 1,234). This means the share of EVs among new private cars from January to May was 16% compared with 13% in the same period of 2024.
The number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) licensed in May 2025 grew by 35% when compared with May 2024 (1,419 vs 1,055). This has increased the year-to-date share of PHEVs among new private cars to 15% from 9% in the same period of 2024.
The combined share of petrol and diesel cars among new private cars licensed from January to May 2025 has fallen in comparison with 2024 (44% vs 56%).
Volkswagen was the most popular make of new private car licensed in May 2025.
Registration and licensing figures may differ in a given month for a number of reasons, some of which are outlined below:
Figure 1 shows data on the number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time in May 2021 to May 2025.
| Table 1 Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class | |||||||||
| Taxation Class | May | January - May | |||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | Change | 2024 | 2025 | Change | ||||
| New vehicles | |||||||||
| New Private Cars | 10,055 | 8,403 | -1,652 | -16% | 72,220 | 72,702 | 482 | 1% | |
| New Goods Vehicles | 3,296 | 3,453 | 157 | 5% | 16,024 | 15,312 | -712 | -4% | |
| New Tractors | 244 | 289 | 45 | 18% | 1,218 | 1,216 | -2 | 0% | |
| New Motor Cycles | 324 | 299 | -25 | -8% | 1,403 | 1,304 | -99 | -7% | |
| New Exempt Vehicles | 570 | 532 | -38 | -7% | 3,220 | 3,442 | 222 | 7% | |
| New Other | 313 | 376 | 63 | 20% | 1,280 | 1,458 | 178 | 14% | |
| Total New Vehicles | 14,802 | 13,352 | -1,450 | -10% | 95,365 | 95,434 | 69 | 0% | |
| Used (imported) vehicles | |||||||||
| Used private cars | 5,592 | 6,144 | 552 | 10% | 25,865 | 27,879 | 2,014 | 8% | |
| Used goods vehicles | 1,038 | 1,148 | 110 | 11% | 4,538 | 5,086 | 548 | 12% | |
| Used tractors | 250 | 260 | 10 | 4% | 1,138 | 1,155 | 17 | 1% | |
| Used motorcycles | 342 | 331 | -11 | -3% | 1,234 | 1,267 | 33 | 3% | |
| Used other vehicles | 643 | 647 | 4 | 1% | 2,582 | 2,805 | 223 | 9% | |
| Total used vehicles | 7,865 | 8,530 | 665 | 8% | 35,357 | 38,192 | 2,835 | 8% | |
| Total all vehicles | 22,667 | 21,882 | -785 | -3% | 130,722 | 133,626 | 2,904 | 2% | |
Figure 2 In May 2025 16% of all new private cars licensed were electric.
| Most popular makes of new cars, May 2025 | |
| Volkswagen | 17 |
| Toyota | 12 |
| Hyundai | 8 |
| Kia | 8 |
| Skoda | 8 |
| Other | 47 |
| Most popular make of new electric model cars, May 2025 | |
| Hyundai Getz | 8 |
| Volkswagen ID.4 | 7 |
| Skoda Elroq | 5 |
| Kia EV 3 | 4 |
| Kia EV 6 | 4 |
| Other | 72 |
| X-axis label | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Jan - May 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <1 year old | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1-2 years old | 11 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| 3-5 years old | 56 | 36 | 29 | 27 | 24 |
| 6-9 years old | 25 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 40 |
| Over 10 years old | 7 | 14 | 19 | 23 | 29 |
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 June 2025) published Vehicles Licensed for the First Time for May 2025.
Commenting on the data, Damien Lenihan, Statistician in the Transport Section of the CSO, said: “Today’s figures from the CSO show a 12% increase in the number of electric cars licensed for the first time in May 2025 (1,382 when compared with the same month in 2024 (1,234). We also see growth in the licensing of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) which were up 35% from 1,055 in May of 2024 to 1,419 vehicles in May 2025.
The number of new EVs and PHEVs licensed for the first time have both grown in the year to May when compared with the same period of 2024. Comparing the first five months of the year, the number of new electric cars licensed has increased from 9,458 in 2024 to 11,877 in 2025 – an increase of 26%. The number of new PHEVs licensed increased by 74%, from 6,300 to 10,988 over the same two periods.
In the first five months of 2025, 19,717 new cars licensed were petrol compared with 24,009 in the same period of 2024, a fall of 18%. Comparing the first five months of 2025 with 2024, the number of new diesel cars licensed fell by 26% (12,485 vs 16,772).
The total number of used private cars licensed in May 2025 rose by 10% compared with the same period in 2024 (6,144 vs 5,592). There were 1,539 used (imported) diesel private cars licensed in May 2025, compared with 1,494 in the same period of 2024, an increase of 3%.
Data also shows that Volkswagen was the most popular make of new private car licensed in May 2025 at 1,405 vehicles, followed by Toyota (1,020), Hyundai (701), Kia (675) and Skoda (674). Together, these five makes represented more than half (53%) of all new private cars licensed in May 2025 (See Table 4).
The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in May 2025 was Hyundai Getz (104), followed by Volkswagen ID.4 (92), and Skoda Elroq (64) (See TEM28 for further information).”