Electric and hybrid cars outsold petrol and diesels last year for the first time, new figures show, writes Ken Murray.
The milestone marks a major tipping point in the Government’s battle to reduce national CO2 emissions.
Some 23,398 electric vehicles – or EVs – were sold last year, while sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) hit 18,237(a 65% year-on-year increase) and hybrids sold 27,379.
The combined EV and hybrids total was 69,014, according to official figures, while the number of petrol cars sold was 31,221 and for diesels it was 20,562, making a combined total of 51,783, which is 17,231 fewer than the combined electric and hybrid sales.
The share of EVs among new private cars last year was 19% compared with 15% in 2024.
Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman welcomed the latest Central Statistics Office figures last night, implying the trend was heading in the right direction.
The Dublin West TD said: “The CSO figures show that EVs are becoming more and more attractive to Irish motorists.”
However, he went on to say that if the latest CSO figures show a move away from fossil-fuel engines, more needs to be done to address motorists’ anxiety over the number of charging points on the roads, which he says is crucial to increasing the size of EV and hybrid fleet.
“In order to sustain this growth in EV numbers on our roads, the Government needs to continue to drive forward the availability for publicly available charging infrastructure,” he said.
Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) director general Brian Cooke said: “The key feature of the market was the move to battery technologies, both fully electric and hybrid cars, which accounted for over half the new car market for the first time in 2025.”
The CSO says the figures show an increase in the licensing of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which were up% from 78 in December 2024 to 100 new private cars in December 2025 Tesla was the most popular new private marque car in December at 175 vehicles, followed by Volkswagen at 101, Toyota on 60, Audi on 55, and Skoda on 52.
The figures for the month are low as many buyers wait until January so their car will have the new year’s registration plate.
Together, the five marques made up more than half – 53% – of all new private cars licensed in December.
Overall, Toyota was the most popular make of new private cars licensed in 2025, the figures also reveal, while the most popular brand of new electric car licensed last year was the Volkswagen ID.4.
Mr Cooke added: “New battery electric car sales reached 23,601 units, an increase of 35% on 2024 (17,460), the highest level of sales annually, surpassing the previous record year of 2023.
“This increase in battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations was seen in every county.
The share of EVs among new private cars last year was 19% compared with 15% in 2024.
“This, along with the increase in plug-in hybrid registrations, meant that Ireland comfortably surpassed the 2025 Climate Action Plan targets.
“Electric cars accounted for over 18% of the new car market, behind petrol and hybrid petrol-electric, but ahead of diesel and plug-in hybrids.”
The Irish EV Association was contacted for comment.
