The number of new private electric cars licensed in October 2026 rose by 62% when compared with October 2025 (1,850 vs 1,144). This means the share of electric vehicles (EVs) among new private cars from January to October 2026 was 29% compared with 19% in the same period of 2025.
The total number of new private cars licensed in October 2026 increased by 6% when compared with October 2025 (4,323 vs 4,096).
The number of used (imported) cars licensed grew by 14% in October 2026 when compared with October 2025 (7,843 vs 6,898). The share of EVs among used (imported) cars from January to October 2026 was 11% compared with 5% in the same period of 2025.
The number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) licensed in October 2026 grew by 13% in comparison with October 2025 (698 vs 616). The year-to-date share of PHEVs in 2026 among new private cars was 15%, which was comparable with 2025 figures for the same period.
The combined share of petrol and diesel cars among new private cars licensed from January to October 2026 was down in comparison with 2025 (31% vs 43%).
Overall, Volkswagen was the most popular make of new private car licensed in October 2026, while the Tesla Model 3 was the most popular model of electric car.
The number of new goods vehicles was down 9% in October 2026 when compared with October 2025 (2,643 vs 2,906).
On a seasonally adjusted basis, new private cars licensed were up 3% in October 2026 compared with September 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 | October | January - October | |||||||
| 2025 | 2026 | Change | 2025 | 2026 | Change | ||||
| New vehicles | |||||||||
| New Private Cars | 4,096 | 4,323 | 227 | 6% | 118,058 | 124,032 | 5,974 | 5% | |
| New Goods Vehicles | 2,906 | 2,643 | -263 | -9% | 29,463 | 31,584 | 2,121 | 7% | |
| New Tractors | 194 | 157 | -37 | -19% | 2,256 | 2,443 | 187 | 8% | |
| New Motor Cycles | 176 | 215 | 39 | 22% | 2,559 | 2,792 | 233 | 9% | |
| New Exempt Vehicles | 390 | 410 | 20 | 5% | 6,285 | 6,423 | 138 | 2% | |
| New Other | 178 | 202 | 24 | 13% | 2,570 | 2,433 | -137 | -5% | |
| Total New Vehicles | 7,940 | 7,950 | 10 | 0% | 161,191 | 169,707 | 8,516 | 5% | |
| Used (imported) vehicles | |||||||||
| Used private cars | 6,898 | 7,843 | 945 | 14% | 59,683 | 78,050 | 18,367 | 31% | |
| Used goods vehicles | 1,121 | 1,005 | -116 | -10% | 10,421 | 10,387 | -34 | 0% | |
| Used tractors | 227 | 191 | -36 | -16% | 2,317 | 2,299 | -18 | -1% | |
| Used motorcycles | 217 | 231 | 14 | 6% | 2,476 | 2,863 | 387 | 16% | |
| Used other vehicles | 635 | 647 | 12 | 2% | 6,021 | 6,795 | 774 | 13% | |
| Total used vehicles | 9,098 | 9,917 | 819 | 9% | 80,918 | 100,394 | 19,476 | 24% | |
| Total all vehicles | 17,038 | 17,867 | 829 | 5% | 242,109 | 270,101 | 27,992 | 12% | |
Figure 2 In October 2026, 43% of all new private cars licensed were electric.
| Most popular makes of new cars, October 2026 | |
| Volkswagen | 13 |
| Toyota | 9 |
| Skoda | 9 |
| Kia | 7 |
| Tesla | 6 |
| Other | 56 |
| Most popular make of new electric model cars, October 2026 | |
| VolkswagenID.4 | 8 |
| Other | 69 |
| TeslaModel 3 | 11 |
| HyundaiInster | 3 |
| SkodaEnyaq | 3 |
| MG MG4 | 6 |
| X-axis label | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Jan - Oct 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 | 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 (10 November 2026) published Vehicles Licensed for the First Time for October 2026.
Commenting on the data, Damien Lenihan, Statistician in the Transport Section of the CSO, said: “Today’s figures from the CSO show a 62% growth in the number of new private electric cars (EVs) licensed for the first time in October 2026 (1,850) when compared with the same month in 2025 (1,144). Licensing of hybrid vehicles decreased by 16% from 808 in October 2025 to 681 new private cars in October 2026, while the number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) licensed in October 2026 grew by 13% in comparison with October 2025 (698 vs 616).
The total number of used (imported) private cars licensed in October 2026 rose by 14% compared with October 2025 (7,843 vs 6,898). There were 1,380 used (imported) diesel private cars licensed in October 2026, compared with 1,527 in the same period of 2025. Used (imported) private petrol cars licensed dropped by 3% in October 2026 compared with October 2025 (2,799 vs 2,874).
The total number of new goods vehicles licensed for the first time in October 2026 was 2,643, down 9% on October 2025 (2,906).
Year-To-Date
In the first 10 months of 2026, there was a 57% rise in new private EVs licensed when compared with the same period in 2025 (35,483 vs 22,613). We can also see that almost a third (29%) of all new private cars licensed between January and October 2026 were electric. Over the same 10 month period, there was a fall of 22% in the number of new petrol cars licensed (23,976 vs 30,569). Similarly, there was a 24% decrease in the number of new diesel cars licensed (15,179 vs 20,066).
There were 31,584 new goods vehicles licensed from January to October 2026, which was an increase of 7% on the 29,463 licensed over the same period of 2025.
Most Popular Makes
Data also shows that Volkswagen was the most popular make of new private car licensed in October 2026 at 578 vehicles, followed by Toyota (387), Skoda (372), Kia (296), and Tesla (252). Together, these five makes represented 44% of all new private cars licensed in October 2026 (Refer to Table 4).
The most popular model of new electric car licensed in October 2026 was the Tesla Model 3 (195), followed by the Volkswagen ID.4 (149), and the MG MG4 (102) (Refer to TEM28 for further information).”