Video by Leah Carroll. Words by Donal Byrne.
If the latest trend in car buying in Ireland continues, electric cars look like they may outpace the combined sales of petrol and diesel cars this year.
The latest figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry for the first two months of the year show the market growing and EV sales growing faster again, with pure electric cars accounting for 20.5% of total sales.
With 10,172 EV sales in that period, growth was up by just under 40% compared with the same two-month period in 2025, when 7,433 were sold.
Against that figure, petrol cars accounted for 21.8% of sales and diesels were down to 13.2%.
Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland has also confirmed that Ireland exceeded its action plan target of having 195,000 EVs on the road by the end of last year. The total number of EVs is now over 200,000 and growing rapidly.
The top-selling EVs are now the Volkswagen ID4, the Hyundai Inster, the Kia EV3, the Hyundai Kona and the Toyota BZ.
Neither of the two big Chinese names - BYD and MG - are in the top five, but both are showing very strong growth, and both are likely to compete even more keenly as the market grows this year.
MG has gone from having three models to nine in just five years on the Irish market, and the company is now ahead of both Nissan and BYD here.
The company’s latest model - the MG S6 EV - will likely create even more competitive pressure, which is good news for car buyers. Prices for more modestly sized EVs have become more keenly priced as manufacturers move away from producing mainly high-profit-margin vehicles and expand their family offerings.
The S6 is such a car, and it has a long-range 77kWh battery as standard, meaning drivers have to worry less about available range. The claimed range is 530 kilometres, but the usual caveat about claimed ranges and performance in real-world conditions applies.
As I’ve noted on more than one occasion, Chinese manufacturers tend to concentrate on two major selling points - price and standard equipment.
The S6 has an entry price point for its Excite version of just €39,495. For this, you get a pretty comprehensive package, without having to upgrade to the Exclusive version. The standard equipment includes 19" alloy wheels, active cruise control, heated front and rear seats and satellite navigation, heated front seats and steering wheel.
Move up a step to the Exclusive version, and you’ll get extras like rear privacy glass, a panoramic roof, heated rear seats, integrated high and low beam LED headlights and a heads-up digital display on the lower part of the windscreen. The Exclusive version costs from €42,495, and there’s an all-wheel drive version for €46,495.
We had a brief drive in the S6, and the interior space was one area that impressed immediately. It is well proportioned, and the car was comfortable and bright. The fact that the battery is thinner than others means the space is maximised.
There’s an impressive 12.8" HD centre screen for infotainment and various controls, and the driver’s display is a 10.2" unit.
However, a big plus was the notable addition of physical buttons for things like de-misting, climate control and radio volume.
Because in-screen menus are so prevalent and so distracting, increasing risk in my view, this is a welcome development, and Chinese companies do pay attention to customer feedback. More importantly, they take action.
The boot is a very generous 674 litres and 1,900 litres with the seats folded flat.
The S6 has a full five-star rating from the EuroNCAP crash testing programme, and the overall warranty covers seven years or 150,000 kilometres. The same terms apply to the battery.
I’m looking forward to seeing how that 530km range claim stacks up in real-world conditions.
