New car sales are up 16% so far this year when compared to the same period last year, new figures show.
The data from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) shows that 118,369 new cars have been registered so far.
However, new car sales dropped 10% in September when compared to the same month last year.
5,669 new cars were registered last month, down from 6,318 12 months ago.
Just under 1,500 new electric vehicles (EV) were registered in September, down 19% on the same month last year.
So far this year, 21,707 new EVs have been registered, up almost 50% on the same period last year.
In September, around 30% of vehicles were petrol, 22% diesel, 18% hybrid, 18% electric and 8% plug-in electric hybrid.
Battery EVs, Plug-in hybrids and hybrids now see their combined market share so far this year at over 45%.
"While the new car market has shown strong growth so far this year, the drop in new car registrations for September, a 10.3% decrease on the same month last year, is a concern," said Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General.
"New electric vehicle registrations declined by nearly a fifth when compared to September 2022, and while some of this is due to changing supply chain dynamics, there is a fear that there could be a softening in EV growth," he added.
As the demand curve for EVs is moving out of the early adopter phase, Mr Cooke said the next cohort of EV buyers will inevitably be more price conscious.
With Budget 2024 only a week way, SIMI is again calling on the Government to maintain EV incentives at current levels.
"This includes retention of the 0% Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) thresholds, and extension of both VRT relief and the SEAI purchase grant relief," Mr Cooke said.
"In addition, with the new car market still in recovery mode, there should be no taxation increases that would dampen new car demand, and at the same time more funding should be allocated to support the roll out of a reliable charging infrastructure.
"Now more than ever is the time to invest in the electric vehicle project to ensure that the right measures are implemented to encourage behavioural change as quickly as possible," he added.
Today's data reveals that Toyota is the top selling car brand so far this year, followed by Volkswagen, Hyundai, Skoda and Kia.
The top selling models are the Hyundai Tucson, the Kia Sportage, the Toyota Corolla, the Toyota Yaris Cross and the Volkswagen ID.4.
