More people are searching the market for electric vehicles than currently end up buying them, new data from DoneDeal shows.
The share of demand for new EVs on the site currently stands at 23% when compared to other internal combustion engine fuel types such as diesel, petrol and hybrid.
Demand on DoneDeal is defined as a weighted mix of ad views, ad saves and ad enquiries.
This 23% electric demand share number on DoneDeal compares with actual new fully EVs purchased up to September 2023 amounting to 18% of total car purchases, as per SIMI data.
"This data underscores a gap between the Irish appetite for electric vehicles and their current level of actual registrations in 2023," the DoneDeal report states.
According to today's report, the share of demand for new petrol cars currently stands at 26%.
However, recent data from the Society for the Irish Motor Industry shows that new petrol cars account for 30% of the new cars on our roads.
"This suggests that car buyers initially have intent or preference to purchase something other than a petrol vehicle but ultimately ended up buying petrol," the report states.
DoneDeal has also found that, for the first time ever, electric vehicles make up 50% of the top ten most in demand premium new cars over €50,000 amongst consumers on DoneDeal.
It said this represents a "seismic shift" in the desire amongst car buyers to go electric as no petrol car is included in the top ten.
The Volkswagen ID.4 takes the top spot, with the Mercedes-Benz EQE and Volkswagen ID.5 also included in the top five most in demand premium new cars.
The Kia EV6 and Mercedes Benz EQB are included in the top ten.
The fact that the most popular premium new car is an EV presents an optimistic picture for the future of EVs, the report suggests.
However, it states that there is still some way to go before the presence of EVs on our roads catches up with the demand for EVs.
