The number of new private electric cars licensed rose by 36 per cent last year when compared with 2024, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.
The figure rose from 17,191 to 23,398 over the year, which means the share of electric vehicles (EVs) among new private cars was 19 per cent compared with 15 per cent in 2024.
The number of new private cars licensed in December fell by 20 per cent from 1,044 to 838 when compared with December 2024.
The number of used cars licensed increased by 49 per cent in December. The number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) licensed grew by 28 per cent. The share of PHEVs among new private cars in 2025 was 15 per cent, up from 9 per cent in 2024.
The combined share of petrol and diesel cars among new private cars licensed from January to December fell from 54 per cent to 43 per cent.
Data also shows that Tesla was the most popular make of new private car licensed in December at 175 vehicles, followed by Volkswagen (101), Toyota (60), Audi (55), and Skoda (52).
Together, these five makes represented 53 per cent of all new private cars licensed in December.
Toyota was the most popular make of new private cars licensed in 2025.
The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in December was Tesla Model 3 (92), followed by Tesla Model Y. The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in 2025 was Volkswagen ID.4
On a seasonally adjusted basis, new private cars licensed decreased by 7 per cent in December compared with the year before. The number of seasonally adjusted used private cars licensed went up by 2 per cent over the same period.
