The number of new electric vehicles (EVs) licensed in September 2025 rose by 77% when compared with September 2024 (2,000 vs 1,127). This means the share of EVs among new private cars from January to September 2025 was 19% compared with 14% in the same period of 2024.
The total number of new private cars licensed in September 2025 rose by 10% when compared with September 2024 (6,723 vs 6,110).
The number of used (imported) cars licensed grew by 26% (6,770 vs 5,393) over the same period.
The number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) licensed in September 2025 grew by 54% when compared with September 2024 (1,045 vs 680). This has increased the year-to-date share of PHEVs among new private cars from 9% to 15% compared with the same period of 2024.
The combined share of petrol and diesel cars among new private cars licensed from January to September 2025 has fallen in comparison with 2024 (43% vs 55%).
Volkswagen was the most popular make of new private car licensed in September 2025.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, new private cars licensed increased by 2% in September 2025 compared with August 2025. The number of seasonally adjusted used (imported) private cars licensed went up by 5% 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:
Figure 1 shows data on the number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time in September 2021 to September 2025.
| Table 1 Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class | |||||||||
| Taxation Class | September | January - September | |||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | Change | 2024 | 2025 | Change | ||||
| New vehicles | |||||||||
| New Private Cars | 6,110 | 6,723 | 613 | 10% | 109,621 | 113,962 | 4,341 | 4% | |
| New Goods Vehicles | 2,342 | 3,520 | 1,178 | 50% | 26,168 | 26,557 | 389 | 1% | |
| New Tractors | 128 | 187 | 59 | 46% | 1,864 | 2,062 | 198 | 11% | |
| New Motor Cycles | 213 | 229 | 16 | 8% | 2,439 | 2,383 | -56 | -2% | |
| New Exempt Vehicles | 560 | 587 | 27 | 5% | 5,578 | 5,895 | 317 | 6% | |
| New Other | 135 | 227 | 92 | 68% | 2,014 | 2,392 | 378 | 19% | |
| Total New Vehicles | 9,488 | 11,473 | 1,985 | 21% | 147,684 | 153,251 | 5,567 | 4% | |
| Used (imported) vehicles | |||||||||
| Used private cars | 5,393 | 6,770 | 1,377 | 26% | 47,554 | 52,785 | 5,231 | 11% | |
| Used goods vehicles | 889 | 1,035 | 146 | 16% | 8,048 | 9,300 | 1,252 | 16% | |
| Used tractors | 182 | 249 | 67 | 37% | 1,964 | 2,090 | 126 | 6% | |
| Used motorcycles | 237 | 201 | -36 | -15% | 2,251 | 2,259 | 8 | 0% | |
| Used other vehicles | 599 | 627 | 28 | 5% | 5,022 | 5,386 | 364 | 7% | |
| Total used vehicles | 7,300 | 8,882 | 1,582 | 22% | 64,839 | 71,820 | 6,981 | 11% | |
| Total all vehicles | 16,788 | 20,355 | 3,567 | 21% | 212,523 | 225,071 | 12,548 | 6% | |
Figure 2 In September 2025, 30% of all new private cars licensed were electric.
| Most popular makes of new cars, September 2025 | |
| Volkswagen | 14 |
| Skoda | 11 |
| Toyota | 9 |
| Hyundai | 7 |
| Kia | 7 |
| Other | 52 |
| Most popular make of new electric model cars, September 2025 | |
| TeslaModel 3 | 11 |
| Volkswagen ID.4 | 10 |
| TeslaModel Y | 8 |
| BYDSealion 7 | 7 |
| HyundaiInster | 6 |
| Other | 59 |
| X-axis label | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Jan - Sept 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <1 year old | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1-2 years old | 11 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| 3-5 years old | 56 | 36 | 29 | 27 | 25 |
| 6-9 years old | 25 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 40 |
| Over 10 years old | 7 | 14 | 19 | 23 | 27 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (10 October 2025) published Vehicles Licensed for the First Time for September 2025.
Commenting on the data, Damien Lenihan, Statistician in the Transport Section of the CSO, said: “Today’s figures from the CSO show a 77% increase in the number of electric cars licensed for the first time in September 2025 (2,000) when compared with the same month in 2024 (1,127). We also saw growth in the licensing of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) which were up 54% from 680 in September 2024 to 1,045 vehicles in September 2025. In the first nine months of 2025, there was a rise of 39% in new private electric cars licensed when compared with the same period in 2024 (21,469 vs 15,460). There were 29,742 new petrol cars licensed compared with 34,779 in the same period of 2024, a fall of 14%. Comparing the first nine months of 2025 with 2024, the number of new diesel cars licensed decreased by 23% (19,365 vs 25,221).
The total number of used private cars licensed in September 2025 rose by 26% compared with the same period in 2024 (6,770 vs 5,393). There were 1,585 used (imported) diesel private cars licensed in September 2025, compared with 1,458 in the same period of 2024. Used private petrol cars licensed increased by 17% in September 2025 compared with September 2024 (2,892 vs 2,464).
Data also shows that Volkswagen was the most popular make of new private car licensed in September 2025 at 908 vehicles, followed by Škoda (706), Toyota (636), Hyundai (498) and Kia (488). Together, these five makes represented 48% of all new private cars licensed in September 2025 (See Table 4).
The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in September 2025 was Tesla Model 3 (216), followed by Volkswagen ID.4 (190), and Tesla Model Y (150) (See TEM28 for further information).”